MAR   9  1949    ^ 


BS  2415 

.M673 

1913 

Morgan, 

G.  Campbell 

1863- 

1945. 

The  teaching 

of  Christ      1 

THE  TEACHll^G  OF  CHRIST 


WORKS   BY 
G.  CAMPBELL  MORGAN,  D.  a 

The  Music  of  Life 

Tlie  Corinthian  Letters  of  Paul 

The  Triumphs  of  Faith 

The  Parables  and  Metaphors  of  Our  Lord 

The  Voice  of  tlie  Devil 

The  Bible  Four  Hundred  Years  after  iryV^H 

Mountains  and  Valleys  in  the  Ministry  of  Jesus 

Peter  and  the  Church 

The  Great  Physician 

Preaching 

The  Answers  of  Jesus  to  Job 

Great  Chapters  of  the  Bible 

Hosea:  the  Heart  and  Holiness  of  God 

Studies  of  the  Four  Gospels 

The  Gospel  According  to  Matthew 
The  Gospel  According  to  Mark 
The  Gospel  According  to  Luke 
The  Gospel  According  to  John 
The  Set  4  Vols.  Boxed 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles 

The  Teaching  of  Christ 

The  Crises  of  the  Christ 

Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible 
Now  Complete  in  Two  Volumes. 
Vol.  1.  O.T.— Genesis  to  Malachi 
Vol.  11,  N.T. — Matthew  to  Revelation 

The  Ten  Commandments 

Discipleship 


THE   TEACHING   OF  CHRIST   ON   THE   KINGDOM   OF   GOD 


References 

Malthew. 

Mark. 

Luke. 

John. 

{■fZtZi...o.- 

ill.  3 

Iv.  17 

i.  If 

Course  of  Pre.ching          

■  Good  tidings  o(  ■■ 

Iv.  43 

"  l' 

(VI.  aoj 

Manife.to 

;l.alin        .  srsslln." 

;:!i 

:;£k:^„„co,„s... 

Vl.   10 

(Si:  3!! 

Coune  of  Preaching 

."Enltrlnlo," 

ylli'li'u 

(xiii   18  an) 

Sending  out  of  Twelve     

■AlhaiKl." 

'».    7 

Course  of  Preaching 

[^:&!S^^.r 

xCi! 

vil.  1S_ 

1  -Comt  upon  you." 

sll.  18 

■■Tb?  3"'nh,  Kingdom                             ''"""  """"""■  ' 

xiil.'  i; 

Special  InslrucUon, 

rLHven.J 

.<ili.'  31 

It 

&:'.V, 

■  Is  like  unlo."           "         "'                               [TrtasuK.l 

::    ,.                  i«s,.....<,n.pes*.| 

xil!'  47 

Confession  of  Peter 

■Key.ollhcKlilJd™,.- 

•  G?is"  s"  1°'"                       =  h3|s'°  '""■ 
:Enttrinlo,'                        =  Milmed. 

;;:?;  \i 

Instruction  of  Disciples 

"'"     '       \     1«   47 

Sending  of  Seventy.. 

l-Ki'gdo'irfcod-              .Publish.      l"y7,^""""«»"'J 

'",'  ^.'u 

To  the  Disciple.      

■Co,n.^„jgbu,„oyou...co„,n,6h.- 

»ll.  3a. 

To  the  Pharisees 

1  ■  EnleKlll  violenlly,- 
{;;j^~bs„vs„„„... 

B}. 

■O^'sueh."'  ■ 

.^vlil.  li 

To  the  Disciples      

1  ■'  Rsiitlve." 

x»m  17 

"xllil'V 

lTs°,'i£'i,,;>o:""''"                                              ttsbour.,,., 

»X.     I 

.Vill.„ 

To  Ch,ef  Priests  and  Elder. 

l:!f£&.'  ■''"""■■                      tMs,H,g.,..s,., 

»»l.  31 

To  a  Scribe 

■Shut  tK.  Kingdom." 

xxiil.  13 

'Z. " 

xxl.  31 

To  the  Discpies      

1  ■  Ths'Klngdom  of  God."     =  Passover  (ulftUed  In. 

XXV,  34 

xxll.  16 

'My  Father's."          (Kingdom  of  God.)          (.  .  .  shall  come.) 

xxvl.  19 

(;;Ap50U,.n„,oy.„."           ,  Si,  on  thrones. 

""■ " 

To  Pilate                   

{■■zs£ir^i^-' 

x.iii.  36 

The 

Teaching  of  Cli 


By 
G.  CAMPBELL  MORGAN,  D.D. 

Author  of  "  The  Crises  of  The   Christ^*  "  The 
Analysed  Bible^'  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

LONDON   AND   EDINBURGH 


Copyright,  1913,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


New  York :  158  Fifth  Avenue 
London :       16    Aneriey    Hill 


Contents 


The  Claim  of  Christ  as  to  the  Value  of  His 
Teaching 


A.     THE  TEACHING  OF  CHRIST  CON- 
CERNING  PERSONALITIES 

I.  God ,        .        . 

II.  Himself    .•.•,.. 

III.  The  Spirit        .        .        .        , 

IV.  Angels 

V.  Satan  and  Demons    .        .        .        .        .91 

VI.  Man  ........     109 


15 

29 

45 
75 


B.     THE  TEACHING  OF  CHRIST  CONCERNING 
SIN  AND  SALVATION 


I.  Sin    . 

II.  Salvation 

III.  His  Saving  Mission  . 

IV.  Human  Responsibility 

V.  Sanctity  . 


125 
139 
153 
171 

183 


vi  Contents 

C.    THE  TEACHING  OF  CHRIST  CONCERN- 
ING  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

I.  The  Fundamental  Conception        .        .197 

II.  Different  Phases  OF  THE  One  Fact         .     211 

III.  The  Existing  Anarchy     ....     229 

IV.  The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Cross  .     245 

V.  The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Church     259 

VI.  The    Redemptive   Processes — The    Con- 

flict      277 

VII.  The  Crisis 295 

VIII.  An  Individual  Application      .        .        .311 
Index 32$ 


THE  CLAIM  OF  CHRIST  AS   TO   THE  VALUE 
OF  HIS  TEACHING 


'Never  man  so  spake." — John  mi.  ^6 


THE   CLAIM   OF  CHRIST  AS  TO  THE  VALUE 
OF  HIS  TEACHING 

The  declaration  with  which  this  introductory  study 
is  prefaced  was  made  by  impartial,  and  probably,  in- 
different men,  after  listening  to  some  of  the  things  that 
Jesus  said. 

Earlier  in  the  chapter  we  find  this  statement  : 

"  The  Pharisees  heard  the  multitude  murmuring  these 
things  concerning  Him  ;  and  the  chief  priests  and  the 
Pharisees  sent  officers  to  take  Him."  * 

The  outcome  was — 

"  The  officers  therefore  came  to  the  chief  priests  and 
Pharisees;  and  they  said  unto  them,  Why  did  ye  not  bring 
Him  ?     The  officers  answered.  Never  man  so  spake."  ^ 

I  make  use  of  these  words  of  the  officers,  whatever 
they  intended  by  them,  as  a  declaration  of  my  conviction 
that  the  words  of  Christ  were  not  the  words  of  a  merely 
human  teacher. 

My  purpose  in  this  series  of  meditations  is  to  consider 
His  teaching  on  some  of  the  great  themes  of  supreme 
interest  to  men,  and  I  propose  to  do  that  in  the  simplest 
way  possible. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  we  start  on  the  assumption 
that  the  New  Testament  view  of  the  Person  of  Christ  is  to 
be  accepted  as  true.  I  am  not  proposing  a  study  of  the 
words  of  Jesus,  in  order  to  lead  to  Christ.  I  rather  desire 
to  lead  those  who  have  already  found  Christ  to  a  study  of 
His  words. 

»  John  vii.  32.  « Ibid.,  vii.  45-46. 

3 


4  The  Claim  of  Christ  as  to 

In  this,  our  first  meditation,  I  propose  to  examine  the 
claims  which  Christ  made  as  to  His  own  teaching.  I  take 
up  the  writings  of  other  men,  all  of  them  valuable  in  greater 
or  less  degree — and  it  is  always  interesting  to  notice  a  man's 
estimate  of  the  value  of  the  things  he  says  himself — and 
this  I  have  observed ;  that  the  greatest  human  teachers  have 
always  been  reticent  as  to  the  ultimate  authority  of  their 
teaching.  They  have  always  admitted  that  there  is  room 
for  interpretation,  for  question,  for  further  investigation. 
That  note  is  entirely  absent  from  the  teaching  of  Christ. 
There  is  no  apology.  He  never  said.  It  is  natural  therefore 
to  suppose;  It  may  probably  be;  or  Consult  the  authorities. 

Scattered  through  the  Gospels  there  are  many  statements 
which  He  made  concerning  His  teaching,  some  incidental, 
others  outstanding,  special,  and  definite;  and  it  is  impos- 
sible, and  unnecessary  for  our  present  purpose,  to  deal  with 
the  whole  of  these.  I  propose  to  refer  to  the  principal 
statements  which  I  have  described  as  outstanding,  special, 
and  definite ;  and  in  doing  so  we  shall  find  two  words  em- 
ployed in  reference  to  His  teaching  which  it  may  be  well 
for  us  at  once  to  consider. 

Jesus  sometimes  spoke  of  "  My  words,"  sometimes  of 
"My  sayings,"  of  "  these  words  of  Mine,"  "these  sayings 
of  Mine."  We  must,  however,  lay  no  emphasis  at  all  upon 
this  distinction,  because  our  translators  have  not  maintained 
the  distinction  between  the  Greek  words  to  which  I  refer. 
Those  who  read  the  New  Testament  in  the  Greek  will  be 
careful  to  distinguish  between  the  words  logos^  and  rhema  ; 
for  such  distinction  may  make  all  the  difference  in  the  in- 
terpretation of  a  particular  passage.  While,  in  considering 
His  claims  as  to  the  value  of  His  teaching,  wc  need  not 
tarry  very  long  with  such  examination,  yet  it  is  important 
that  we  recognize  the  distinction. 

John's  Gospel  opens  with   statements   characterized   by 


The  Value  of  His  Teaching  ^ 

awe-inspiring  sublimity,  and  we  are  conscious  of  our  inabil- 
ity to  finally  express  their  meaning.  The  suggestion  of 
the  opening  statement  is  too  mysterious,  too  high  and  too 
glorious  for  man's  reaching,  too  profound  for  his  fathom- 
ing. "  In  the  beginning  was  the  word."  *  In  that  declar- 
ation, however,  John  employed  the  particular  word  to 
which  we  must  first  give  our  attention.  It  is  the  word 
iogos^  translated  here  "  Word.'*  The  root  from  which  the 
word  is  derived  means,  to  lay  side  by  side ;  therefore  to 
collect,  and  to  set  in  order.  Consequently  it  suggests 
words  so  set  together  and  framed  as  to  express  thought ; 
and  therefore  it  refers  to  the  thought  itself,  orderly  and 
sequential,  which  is  put  together  and  expressed.  When- 
ever we  come  to  the  word  Iogos.y  therefore,  we  must  remem- 
ber its  two  values.  The  first  is  that  of  a  method  of  ex- 
pression ;  and  the  second  is  that  of  the  truth  which  is  ex- 
pressed. That  is  the  word  which  most  often  occurs  as  we 
examine  what  our  Lord  had  to  say  about  His  own  teaching. 

The  word  rhema  simply  means  articulate  speech,  some* 
thing  beyond  a  mere  sound  ;  a  sound  which  is  a  method  of 
expression,  or  a  sound  conveying  a  meaning.  I  do  not  in- 
tend to  suggest  that  when  Jesus  spoke  of  His  own  sayings, 
and  described  them  by  the  word  rhema  that  He  meant  they 
were  unimportant,  for  no  saying  of  His  could  in  any  sense 
be  unimportant. 

In  this  study  I  shall  indicate  the  distinction  between  logos 
and  rhema  by  translating  the  former,  word  or  words ;  and 
the  latter,  sayings. 

I  propose,  then,  first  a  collocation  of  passages  which 
reveal  to  us  our  Lord's  estimate  of  the  value  of  His  own 
teaching.  Having  read  these  passages,  we  shall  make  a 
deduction  of  values,  as  preliminary  to  our  future,  and  larger 
study. 

1  John  i.  I. 


6  The  Claim  of  Christ  as  to 

Having  first  referred  to  the  passages  as  they  occur  in  the 
four  Gospel  stories,  I  shall  then  group  them,  so  far  as  is 
possible,  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  spoken  by  the 
Lord.  Finally,  I  shall  attempt  to  make  the  deductions 
from  them  which  are  necessary  to  our  subsequent  studies. 

In  Matthew  there  are  two  principal  statements  of  our 
Lord  concerning  His  own  teaching : 

"  Every  one  therefore  which  heareth  these  words  of  Mine 
and  doeth  them,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  wise  man,  which 
built  his  house  upon  the  rock ;  and  the  rain  descended,  and 
the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that 
house  -,  and  it  fell  not ;  for  it  was  founded  upon  the  rock. 
And  every  one  that  heareth  these  words  of  Mine,  and  doeth 
them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which  built 
his  house  upon  the  sand;  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the 
floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  smote  upon  that 
house;  and  it  fell :  and  great  was  the  fall  thereof."  ' 

"  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  My  words  shall 
not  pass  away.'*  ^ 

The  first  statement  concluded  the  Manifesto  on  the  Mount. 

The  final  word  was  spoken  in  the  midst  of  the  Mani- 
festo of  the  ultimate  movements  of  His  Kingdom,  the 
prophecy  on  Olivet. 

In  the  Gospel  of  Mark  we  find  two  principal  declarations  : 

"  Whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  Me  and  of  My  words 
in  this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  the  Son  of  Man 
also  shall  be  ashamed  of  him,  when  He  cometh  in  the  glory 
of  His  Father  with  the  holy  angels."  ^ 

"  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away  ;  but  My  words  shall 
not  pass  away."  ^ 

In  the  Gospel  of  Luke  we  find  the  record  of  four  great 
central  claims  of  Jesus  concerning  His  teaching  : 

1  Matt.  vii.  24-27.  3  Mark  viii.  38. 

'  Ibid.,  xxiv.  35.  *  Ibid.,  xiii.  31. 


The  Value  of  His  Teaching  7 

"  Every  one  that  cometh  unto  Me,  and  heareth  My 
words^  and  doeth  them,  I  will  show  you  to  whom  he  is  like  -, 
he  is  like  a  man  building  a  house,  who  digged  and  went 
deep,  and  laid  a  foundation  upon  the  rock ;  and  when  a 
flood  arose,  the  stream  brake  against  that  house,  and  could 
not  shake  it;  because  it  had  been  well  builded.  '  But  he 
that  heareth,  and  doeth  not,  is  like  a  man  that  built  a  house 
upon  the  earth  without  a  foundation ;  against  which  the 
stream  brake,  and  straightway  it  fell  in ;  and  the  ruin  of  that 
house  was  great."  ^ 

"  For  whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  Me  and  of  My 
words^  of  him  shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed,  when  He 
cometh  in  His  own  glory,  and  the  glory  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  holy  angels."  ^ 

"  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away ;  but  My  words  shall 
not  pass  away."  ^ 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  These  are  My  words  which  I 
spake  unto  you,  while  I  was  yet  with  you,  how  all  things 
must  needs  be  fulfilled,  which  are  written  in  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  the  prophets,  and  the  psalms,  concerning  Me. 
.  .  .  And  He  said  unto  them.  Thus  it  is  written,  that  the 
Christ  should  suffer,  and  rise  again  from  the  dead  the  third 
day ;  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  His  name  unto  all  the  nations,  beginning  from 
Jerusalem.     Ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things."  ^ 

In  the  Gospel  of  John  we  have  three  great  central  words  : 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  heareth  My 
word^  and  believeth  Him  that  sent  Me,  hath  eternal  life, 
and  cometh  not  into  judgment,  but  hath  passed  out  of  death 
into  life."  ^ 

There  are  two  other  statements  in  the  course  of  the 

•» 

^  Luke  vi.  47-49*  *  Ibid.^  xxiv.  44-48. 

2  Ibid.,  ix.  26.  »  John  v.  24. 

^  Ibid.^  xxi.  33. 


8  The  Claim  of  Christ  as  to 

controversy  that  followed,  which  I  desire  to  link  with  this 
first  declaration  : 

"  The  sayings  that  I  have  spoken  unto  you  are  spirit,  and 
are  life."  ' 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  If  a  man  keep  My  word^ 
he  shall  never  see  death.'*  ^ 

Note  in  each  case  the  repetition  of  the  thought  of  life. 

The  second  of  the  great  central  words  of  this  Gospel  reads 
thus: 

"  If  any  man  hear  My  sayings,  and  keep  them  not,  I  judge 
him  not;  for  I  came  not  to  judge  the  world,  but  to  save  the 
world.  He  that  rejecteth  Me,  and  receiveth  not  My  say- 
ings, hath  One  that  judgeth  him  ;  the  word  thai  I  spake,  the 
same  shall  judge  him  in  the  last  day."  ^ 

Speaking  in  the  upper  room,  and  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Cross,  to  His  Father,  our  Lord  said  : 

"  The  sayings  which  Thou  gavest  Me  I  have  given  unto 
them."  * 

I  at  once  confess  that  it  seems  to  my  own  heart  that  the 
mere  reading  of  these  passages  brings  us  into  an  atmosphere 
in  which  we  are  conscious  of  the  august  sublimity  of  Christ*s 
conception  of  the  value  of  His  own  teaching.  My  own  con- 
viction is  that  there  is  not  a  single  one  of  these  passages  that 
we  can  believe  to  be  true  if  we  deny  the  Deity  of  our  Lord. 
And  if  the  statement  be  questioned,  then  take  any  of  these 
claims,  and  put  them  into  the  lips  of  any  other  teacher,  and 
it  must  at  once  be  seen  how  entirely  and  absolutely  they  are 
out  of  place.  They  are  words  which  claim  a  full  and  final 
authority  for  the  One  Who  uttered  them. 

Now  let  me  group  them  in  chronological  order.  I  do 
not  set  very  much  value  upon  this,  but  it  is  at  least  inter- 
esting to  see,  as  far  as  possible,  how  His  disciples  heard  His 
progressive  claim  as  to  His  own  teaching. 

» John  vi.  63.      «  /itd.,  viii.  51.      »  Jdtc/.,  xii.  47-  48.      *  /did^  xvii  & 


The  Value  of  His  Teaching  9 

I  think  the  first  in  order  is  that  recorded  in  the  fifth 
chapter  of  John,  in  which  He  declared  that  His  word 
believed,  leads  to  the  Father,  and  constitutes  the  medium 
of  age-abiding  life. 

Next  in  order  came  the  word  at  the  close  of  the  great 
Manifesto  in  which  He  so  clearly  and  deliberately  claimed 
that  His  words  constitute  the  foundation  upon  which  men 
must  build,  unless  in  the  stress  of  storm  their  building  is  to 
be  destroyed  i  or,  in  other  words,  that  His  teaching  is  the 
foundation  of  character. 

Next  in  order  came  the  words  that  Mark  records,  and 
Luke  also,  in  which  our  Lord  declared  that  His  words  con- 
stitute the  test  of  the  inspiration  of  life,  and  therefore  the 
test  of  nobility  for  to-day  and  forever.  Whosoever  is, 
here  and  now,  "  ashamed  of  Me  and  of  My  words^  the  Son 
of  Man  also  shall  be  ashamed  of  him,  when  He  cometh  in 
the  glory  of  His  Father  with  the  holy  angels." 

The  man  who  is  to-day  ashamed  of  the  teaching  of  the 
Lord,  does  not  accept  His  ideal,  turns  his  life  away  from  the 
revelation  of  character  and  nobility  contained  within  His 
words ;  makes  certain  the  inexorable  result  that,  in  the  day  of 
glory,  when  the  ideals  of  Christ  are  vindicated,  Christ  will 
be  ashamed  of  him.  Why  ?  Because  that  man  has  turned 
his  back  upon  the  true  ideals  of  nobility,  and  has  devoted 
himself  to  that  which  is  base  and  low  and  mean.  Christ 
thus  claimed  that  His  words  constitute  the  true  inspiration 
of  life,  which  makes  for  nobility  of  character. 

Next  in  order  came  the  declaration  recorded  by  John,  that 
His  word  is  to  be  the  Divine  standard  of  judgment ;  that  by 
the  word  which  He  has  spoken  men  are  to  be  judged  in 
that  ultimate  day,  to  which  He  so  often  made  reference. 

Then  we  come  to  that  supreme  declaration  recorded  by 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  but  My  words  shall  not  pass  away.** 


lo  The  Claim  of  Christ  as  to 

My  memory  goes  back  nine-and-thirty  years  to  a  morn- 
ing when  I  received  one  of  the  earliest  and  profoundest 
impressions  of  my  life.  It  was  created  by  that  poet-preacher^ 
Thomas  Jones.  I  was  a  boy  in  Walter's  Road  Church  in 
Swansea,  and  I  remember  the  occasion  as  though  it  were 
but  yesterday.  He  gave  out  the  text,  "  Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  My  words  shall  not  pass  away,"  and 
then  in  his  own  inimitable  way  he  began,  leaning  on  his 
pulpit,  "  And  who  is  this  young  man  that  says  this  ?  Is  not 
this  the  carpenter  ?  *'  Then  he  led  us  on,  and  I  saw  the 
Lord  that  morning,  and  I  have  never  forgotten  from  that 
day  to  this  the  tremendous  importance  of  this  statement. 
That  impression  comes  back  through  the  years  to  me  now, 
with  the  accumulated  testimony  of  any  measure  of  attention 
I  have  been  able  to  give  to  the  teaching  of  Christ,  and  I 
believe  the  tremendous  declaration  that  His  word  is  the 
central  and  final  authority.  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  but  My  words  shall  not  piss  away." 

Next  in  order  we  have  His  word  in  the  intercessory 
prayer,  spoken,  not  to  men,  but  to  His  Father,  in  which 
He  said,  "  Father,  I  have  given  them  the  sayings  that  Thou 
gavest  Me,"  which  was  His  claim  that  the  thmgs  He  had 
spoken,  which  at  first  often  appear  to  be  so  fragmentary  and 
broken  and  scattered,  but  in  which  very  brokenness  and 
scattering  there  is  a  great  system,  constitute  the  complete 
testimony  of  God  to  men. 

And  last  in  order  comes  that  word  spoken  after  His  res- 
urrection, in  exposition  of  redemption,  in  which  He  declared, 
"  These  are  My  words.''  Everything  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures,  the  law,  the  prophets,  the  psalms,  all  the  teaching 
foretelling  death  and  resurrection  ;  the  promise  of  repentance 
and  remission  of  sins.  He  claimed  as  finding  fulfillment  in 
Himself,  and  as  constituting  the  sum  total  of  His  teaching. 

In  conclusion  let  us  make  a  declaration  of  values. 


The  Value  of  His  Teaching  1 1 

First,  our  Lord  distinctly  claimed  that  His  teaching  was 
Divine  in  its  authority  ;  and  He  made  that  claim  in  words 
which  are  most  remarkable  : 

"  I  spake  not  from  Myself;  but  the  Father  which  sent  Me, 
He  hath  given  Me  a  commandment,  what  I  should  say,  and 
what  I  should  speak.  And  I  know  that  His  command- 
ment is  life  eternal;  the  things  therefore  which  I  speak, 
even  as  the  Father  hath  said  unto  Me,  so  I  speak."  ' 

That  was  His  own  estimate.  He  declared  that  what  He 
said  was  from  God  ;  that  what  He  said  was  clearly  spoken 
to  men ;  and  therefore  that  what  He  said  should  become  the 
basis  of  judgment.  This  is  a  very  supreme  claim,  a  claim 
made  by  no  other  teacher  with  the  same  definiteness. 

There  is  no  apology  here  ;  there  is  no  appeal  to  men  to 
consider ;  there  is  no  suggestion  that  if  men  will  hear  Him, 
they  may  thereafter  form  their  own  conclusion.  He  stands 
in  the  midst  of  humanity,  and  says  that  His  teaching  is 
Divine  in  its  authority.  That  is  true,  or  it  is  not  true. 
We  shall  assume  it  as  true  as  we  go  forward. 

If,  however,  any  are  not  able  to  assume  that  it  is  true, 
then  there  is  a  test;  a  test  permitted,  a  test  given  by  Jesus. 
"  If  any  man  willeth  to  do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the 
teaching,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  from 
Myself."  2 

Now,  that  is  the  full  passage.  We  constantly  quote  that 
verse  partially,  as  though  Christ  had  said.  If  a  man  shall  do 
His  will,  he  shall  know.  We  have  no  right  to  stop  there 
— we  must  hear  Christ  through.  That  may  be  true  in 
certain  senses,  but  Christ  declared  that  he  that  wills  to  do 
His  will  shall  know  of  the  teaching  whether  it  be  of  God, 
Thus  Christ  said  that  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  test 
His  teaching  is  by  obeying  it;  not  by  our  own  intellectual 
cleverness  can  we  ever  test  the  truth  of  His  teaching ;  not  by 

*  John  xii.  49,  50.  '  Ibid.,  vii.  17. 


1 2  The  Claim  of  Christ  as  to 

any  philosophy  or  wit  or  wisdom  of  our  own ;  but  if  we 
will  do  what  He  says,  in  doing,  we  shall  come  to  certainty  as 
to  whether  or  not  the  thing  spoken  was  speech  from  God. 

That  test  is  in  itself,  if  possible,  a  more  supreme  claim 
still.  It  is  Christ's  perpetual  challenge  to  the  race.  He 
claims  that  His  teaching  is  from  God.  He  uttered  that 
challenge  in  the  days  of  His  flesh;  and  He  publishes  it 
anew  at  this  very  hour,  in  the  midst  of  all  our  complex  life, 
and  to  all  men.  The  test  of  the  Divinity  of  His  teaching 
is  obedience  to  it.  I  will  make  this  affirmation,  which  may 
be  challenged,  but  I  will  make  it  and  leave  it : — No  man 
ever  tried  and  tested  Christ*s  teaching  in  that  way,  and  de- 
cided that  it  was  untrue.  Or  to  put  it  into  positive  form  : — 
Every  man  who  has  obeyed  the  teaching  of  Christ  has  at 
last  been  compelled  to  say.  This  word  that  He  spake  to  my 
soul  was  the  Word  of  God.  His  first  claim,  then,  was  that 
His  teaching  is  Divine  in  its  authority. 

The  second  claim  that  our  Lord  made  for  His  own  teach- 
ing was  that,  being  Divine  in  authority,  it  was  in  order  to 
human  government.  Again,  passages  we  have  already 
quoted  must  be  repeated.  Take  that  first  word  at  the  close 
of  the  Manifesto;  "these  sayings  of  Mine,"  are  rock 
foundations  for  character;  and  in  preparation  for  character, 
for  conduct;  and  in  preparation  for  conduct,  for  conception. 
That  is  a  claim  that  if  a  man  will  make  the  words  of  Jesus 
the  master-conceptions  of  his  life,  square  his  conduct  with 
these  conceptions;  then  his  character  will  be  strong  enough 
to  stand  the  stress  and  strain  of  all  the  storms  that  ever  blow 
from  earth  or  hell. 

A  man  did  7  say  ?  Yes,  Christ  always  begins  with  the 
individual;  'jut  He  does  not  end  with  the  individual. 
Nevertheless  He  does  not  deal  with  society  to  the  neglect 
of  the  individual,  and  He  never  suggests  the  folly  of 
incorporating  in  the  new  and  ultimate  society  men  who  are 


The  Value  of  His  Teaching  13 

other  than  men  of  perfected  character.  He  always  begins 
there;  but  He  is  challenging  the  statesmen  of  to-day  with 
the  same  words : — Build  on  My  words  and  you  build  well 
and  forever.  Build,  however  fairly  and  beautifully,  with 
apparent  refinement,  upon  anything  else  ;  then  when  the 
storm  comes,  all  will  be  swept  away.  That  is  His  own 
conception  of  the  value  of  His  teaching. 

He  claimed  more  than  that.  Not  only  is  the  foundation 
of  character  found  in  these  words  of  His,  they  constitute 
the  very  medium  of  life,  for  if  a  man  hear  His  word^  it  is 
the  word  vfhich.  reveals  the  Father;  and  the  man  receiving 
it  will  believe  the  father;  and  so  the  word  will  become  the 
medium  through  which  he  will  receive  life.  It  not  only 
affords  the  vision  of  the  truth ;  it  supplies  the  virtue  that 
makes  possible  the  victory. 

He  claimed  also  that  for  human  government  His  words  are 
the  test  of  inspiration.  What  are  our  inspirations  to-day  ? 
What  are  we  dreaming  about  ?  What  are  the  ideals  formed 
in  our  hearts,  which  we  are  answering  ?  Let  us  bring  them 
into  the  light  of  Christ'§  teaching.  Are  we  ashamed  ?  If  we 
follow  that  unworthy  inspiration,  there  will  come  a  day  of 
great  glory  and  revelation,  when  He  will  be  ashamed  of  us. 

These  are  supreme  claims  !  The  most  monstrous  fraud 
the  world  has  ever  known  was  this  Jesus  ;  or  ultimate, 
supreme,  final.  He  was  very  God,  as  well  as  very  man. 

In  the  third  place  He  claimed  that  His  teaching  was  for 
the  proclamation  of  redemption.  It  is  not  without  sig- 
nificance, with  which  we  cannot  now  tarry,  but  to  which 
we  shall  come  again  in  the  course  of  our  studies,  that  the 
word  He  spoke  beyond  the  Cross,  and  beyond  the  grave 
about  His  words^  was  that  in  which  He  declared  that  all  the 
Old  Testament  Scriptures  were  of  value,  as  they  led  up  to 
Him  ;  and  that  the  central  facts  of  all  His  ministry  and  His 
revelation  were  those  of  His  death  and  of  His  resurrection  ; 


14  The  Claim  of  Christ 

that  the  deepest  and  profoundest  passion  of  His  heart,  and 
the  highest  joy  of  His  soul  was  that  He  came  into  human 
history  to  preach  the  evangel  of  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins.  He  claimed  that  His  words  are  the  words  which 
proclaim  redemption  for  men  and  women  who  are  lost. 

The  last  claim  is  that  His  teaching  is  final.  Heaven  and 
larth  pass,  but  the  words  abide.  Nor  do  they  abide  only; 
they  are  complete;  as  He  said  to  His  Father:  "I  have 
given  them  Thy  word'*  That  is  what  the  writer  of  the 
letter  to  the  Hebrews  meant  when  he  said,  "  God,  hav'ng 
of  old  time  spoken  unto  the  fathers  in  the  prophets  by  divers 
portions  and  in  divers  manners,  hath  at  the  end  of  these 
days  spoken  unto  us  in  His  Son."  *  In  that  speech  every- 
thing was  said  that  man  needs  to  hear. 

These  are  superlative  claims.  We  start  the  present  series 
of  meditations,  accepting  them  as  true.  From  this  point  we 
shall  go  forward,  desiring  to  hear  what  He  has  to  say. 

It  seems  as  though,  out  of  that  overshadowing  glory  of 
this  mount  of  worship,  I  again  hear  the  voice  that  spoke  to 
Peter,  James,  and  John,  on  the  holy  mount  long  ago;  and 
this  is  what  it  says:  "This  is  My  Son  .  .  .  hear  ye 
Him."  2 

We  started  with  the  confession  of  impartial  and  indifferent 
men,  "  Never  man  so  spake."  We  close  with  the  declara- 
tion of  God,  "This  is  My  Son     .     .     .     hear  ye  Him." 

*  Heb.  i.  I,  2.  «  Luke  ix.  35. 


A.     THE  TEACHING  OF  CHRIST 
CONCERNING  PERSONALITIES 

(.    CONCERNING  GOD 


"  Your  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask 
Him." — Matthew  vi.  8. 

"Your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these 
things." — vi.  32. 

" .  .  .  Neither  doth  any  know  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to 
whomsoever  the  Son  willeth  to  reveal  Him." — xi.  zy, 

"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  great  and  first  command- 
ment."— xxii.  J7,  j<y. 


«  God  is  a  Spirit." — John-  iv.  24. 

"  My  Father  worketh  even  until  now,  and  I  work." — v.  //. 

"  Therefore  doth  the  Father  love  Me,  because  I  lay  down  My  life,  that 
I  may  take  it  again." —  x.  17. 

"  If  ye  had  knowr>  Me,  ye  would  have  known  My  Father  also  :  from 
henceforth  ye  know  iriin,  and  have  seen  Him." — xiv.  7. 

"  He  that  br>*'>'  ^e^.p  V/'.  ><«,th  seen  the  Father." — xiv.  g. 


I 

CONCERNING  GOD 

As  we  approach  the  theme  of  the  teaching  of  Christ  con- 
cerning God,  inevitably  we  are  conscious  of  its  vastness 
and  importance.  We  recognize  also  that  if  there  is  to  be 
any  teaching  about  God,  or  any  understanding  of  that 
teaching,  the  revelation  must  be  adjusted  to  human  capacity, 
in  order  to  human  comprehension. 

In  the  universe  the  fact  of  God  's  patent  and  open  ;  but 
that  vision  is  too  large  for  human  sight,  and  too  vast  for 
human  comprehension.  In  order  therefore  that  it  may  be 
known  by  men,  it  must  somehow  be  brought  into  such  nar- 
rowness of  expression  that  they  may  hear  and  understand. 

Both  these  facts — that  of  the  vastness  of  the  theme,  and 
that  of  the  necessity  for  a  revelation  adjusted  to  human 
capacity, — are  recognized  in  the  words  of  our  Lord,"  This 
is  the  age-abiding  life,  that  they  should  know  Thee  the  only 
true  God,  and  Him  Whom  Thou  didst  send  "  ;  *  the  vast- 
ness of  the  fact  in  the  words,  "  the  only  true  God,"  and  the 
Medium  of  manifestation  adjusted  to  the  capacity  of  hu- 
manity in  the  words,  "  Him  Whom  Thou  didst  send." 

The  first  impression  made  upon  the  mind  by  a  study  of 
the  words  of  Jesus  about  God  is  that  of  how  little  He  said 
of  Him.  We  have  in  these  Gospel  narratives  no  sustained 
argument  for  the  existence  of  God.  His  existence  was  as- 
sumed by  Jesus.  In  the  words  of  Jesus  we  find  no  system- 
atic teaching  about  the  nature  of  God.  That  seems  to  be 
treated,  from  first  to  last,  as  incomprehensible.  Jesus  never 
argued  for  the  existence  of  God  ;  He  assumed  that  existence. 
^  John  xvii.  3. 

17 


1 8  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

He  never  taught  men  anything  about  God  systematically ; 
He  seems  to  have  taken  it  for  granted  that  God  is  entirely 
beyond  the  ultimate  comprehension  of  the  finite  mind. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  assumption  on  the  part  of 
Jesus,  and  nothing  in  His  teaching  that  would  lead  us  to 
the  conclusion  that  He  considered  God  to  be  unknowable. 
On  the  contrary.  He  declared  incidentally,  over  and  over 
again,  and  more  than  once  quite  emphatically,  that  God  is 
revealed,  and  therefore  can  be  known.  That  is  the  burden 
of  the  thought  underlying  the  words  recorded  by  Matthew, 
"  No  one  knoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father ;  neither  doth 
any  know  the  Father,  save  the  Son."  So  far  we  have  only 
the  assumption  that  the  Father  is  known  by  the  Son  ;  but 
the  declaration  did  not  end  there,  for  He  continued,  "  and 
he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  willeth  to  reveal  Him  "  ;  *  and 
m  that  word  we  discover  His  recognition  of  the  fact,  that 
God  can  be  known  by  men,  in  measure,  and  accurately, 
through  revelation. 

In  seeking  for  the  teaching  of  Jesus  concerning  God,  we 
have  then,  first,  to  recognize  the  One  Whom  He  assumed 
in  ail  His  ministry  ;  and  secondly,  to  consider  that  One  so 
far  as  He  is  revealed  in  the  words  of  Jesus. 

We  must,  however,  at  once  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
words  of  Jesus  do  not  constitute  His  complete  revelation  of 
the  Father;  that  His  teaching  about  God  is  not  to  be  found 
finally  in  what  He  said,  but  in  what  He  was,  and  in  what 
He  did.  We  are  now  dealing  with  His  words,  and  I  re- 
peat, then,  that  as  we  listen  to  the  words  of  Jesus  two 
things  seem  to  be  necessary.  If  we  would  understand  His 
thought  of  God,  we  must  first  recognize  the  One  Whom 
He  assumed,  the  One  for  Whose  existence  He  never 
argued,  the  One  Whose  nature  He  never  attempted  system- 
atically to  explain,  the  One  to  Whom  He  perpetually  re- 
*  Matt.  xi.  27. 


Concerning  God  19 

ferred  in  the  course  of  all  His  conversation  and  of  all  His 
teaching  ;  and,  in  order  to  this,  we  must  listen  to  the  refer- 
ences He  made  to  that  One,  and  so  far  as  it  is  possible,  at- 
tempt to  understand  them.  Then,  secondly,  we  must  at- 
tempt to  consider  that  One  assumed,  in  so  far  as  He  was 
actually  revealed  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 

The  recognition  of  the  God  assumed  by  Jesus  can  only 
proceed  so  far  as  He  is  revealed  in  the  references  which 
prove  the  assumption.  We  claim  that  His  references  to 
God  do  prove  His  assumption  of  His  existence.  We  claim 
further,  that  in  a  measure  we  may  understand  His  thought 
of  the  One  Whom  He  assumed,  as  we  listen  to  His  refer- 
ences to  that  One.  The  first  question  we  have  to  ask  is,  By 
what  references  is  that  assumption  proven  ;  then,  secondly, 
What  do  these  references  reveal  ? 

When  we  come  to  the  consideration  of  things  definitely 
said  concerning  God,  we  should  remember  that  such  con- 
sideration must  be  conditioned  by  the  method  which  the 
Teacher  adopted.  The  method  of  Jesus  in  His  teaching 
concerning  God  was  twofold.  First,  He  made  certain  clear 
declarations  about  God,  but  they  were  all  incidental ;  one  of 
them  was  separate  and  direct,  but  not  one  of  them  was  an 
affirmation  made  for  the  sake  of  telling  men  something  about 
God.  Everything  so  said  was  for  the  sake  of  flinging  light 
upon  some  condition  of  human  life. 

But  the  final  teaching  of  Jesus,  in  His  manifestation  of 
God,  was  not  that  of  the  words  of  reference  to  God,  nor 
that  of  the  words  of  declaration  concerning  God ;  but  that 
of  the  manifestation  of  His  whole  being  and  doing.  To 
use  the  stately  and  mystic  words  of  John,  by  the  fact  that 
"  the  Word  was  made  flesh,"  did  Christ  bring  to  the  world 
His  full  and  final  teaching  concerning  God.  Therefore  the 
final  teaching  of  Jesus  concerning  God  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  words,  but  in   Himself;  and  as  we  grow  to  a  more 


20  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

perfect  knowledge  of  Christ,  we  shall  ever  be  coming  to  a 
more  perfect  understanding  of  what  He  taught  us  concern- 
ing God. 

In  our  present  study,  then,  there  are  three  things  for  us  to 
do:  first,  to  attempt  to  recognize  His  assumption  by  an  ex- 
amination of  His  references  ;  secondly,  to  consider  the  few 
brief  declarations  He  clearly  made  about  God ;  and  finally, 
to  observe  how  these  things  prepare  for  the  final  teaching  of 
His  own  Person. 

Now  when  we  attempt  to  recognize  His  assumption,  as 
we  have  already  pointed  out,  we  can  only  do  so  by  paying 
attention  to  His  leferences.  A  careful  reading  of  the  actual 
words  of  Jesus,  as  they  lie  scattered  through  these  four 
Gospels,  reveals  the  fact  that  whether  the  teaching  was  the 
more  public  general  teaching,  or  the  more  systematic  teach- 
ing, such  as  the  Manifesto  of  the  Kingdom,  or  the  final 
paschal  discourses  delivered  to  the  disciples,  or  the  great 
prophecies  on  Olivet ;  in  all  such  teaching  and  converse, 
Jesus  constantly  referred  to  God.  Those  references  are  of 
supreme  importance,  not  in  the  matter  of  what  He  said,  but 
in  the  way  in  which  He  referred  to  God  ;  or  quite  clearly^ 
in  the  names  of  God  which  He  employed.  We  find  that 
in  all  the  Gospels  He  is  only  reported  to  have  referred  to 
God  by  the  use  of  three  names  or  titles.  There  is  a  sense 
in  which  it  would  be  correct  to  say  He  only  referred  to  God 
by  the  use  of  two  names,  for  in  every  case  where  He  used 
the  third,  He  did  so  in  making  a  quotation  from  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures.  The  One  Whom  He  assumed, 
and  to  Whom  He  perpetually  referred,  He  always  called 
"  God,"  or  "  Father,"  when  speaking  His  own  words.  He 
also  called  Him  "  Lord  "  by  quotation  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  The  two  outstanding  and  peculiar  names, 
which  Jesus  employed  in  referring  to  the  One  Whose  exist- 
ence He  assumed,  were  those  of  "  God  "  and  "  Father." 


Concerning  God  21 

I  think  that  fact  illuminates  for  us  certain  words  in  the 
epistles,  to  which  I  only  refer  in  passing.  I  think  that  is 
what  Paul  meant  when  he  said  at  the  beginning  of  his 
Ephesian  letter,  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  '  I  think  that  is  what  Peter  meant 
when,  in  his  letter,  he  wrote  the  identical  words  of  Paul, 
"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  ^ 
While  I  am  perfectly  sure  that  each  of  these  apostles  recog- 
nized the  relationship  between  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  Eternal  One,  I  think  they  were  also  remembering  the 
way  by  which  He  described  the  One  to  Whom  He  was 
related,  perpetually  speaking  of  Him  as  God  or  as  Father. 

Let  us  then  in  the  very  simplest  way  possible  consider 
these  names.  The  word  God  stands  for  an  abstract  idea.  It 
explains  nothing.  It  suggests  no  truth  concerning  substance, 
attributes,  or  activities.  Just  as  when  we  begin  to  consider 
the  component  colours  of  light,  we  lose  light ;  so  in  the 
moment  in  which  we  begin  that  which  for  certain  reasons  is 
necessary  and  proper,  a  study  of  the  nature  and  attributes  and 
activities  of  God,  we  lose  that  supreme  conception  which 
the  word  suggests  when  used  apart  from  definition. 

When  we  begin  to  enquire  the  meaning  of  the  Greek 
word  Theos  we  find  ourselves  involved  in  a  discussion  of 
eight  suggested  derivations.  And  finally  we  shall  have  to 
be  content  to  leave  the  matter  where  the  scholars  have  left 
it,  that  most  probably  the  underlying  thought,  the  root  from 
which  the  word  came,  was  one  meaning  to  implore,  or  to 
sacrifice;  and  that  the  word  itself  in  its  first  use  suggested 
One  implored,  or  One  to  Whom  sacrifice  is  given.  That 
is  all  doubtful ;  but  the  fact  of  the  darkness  round  the  origin 
of  the  word  is  in  itself  suggestive. 

If  our  Lord  made  use  of  that  actual  word,  Theos^  if  He 
spoke  a  Greek  dialect,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the 
»  Eph.  i.  3.  '  I  Peter  i.  3. 


22  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

thought  in  His  mind  was  the  thought  of  the  Hebrew  word, 
Eloh'im^  that  majestic  and  mysterious  plural  in  which  the 
master  conception  is  that  of  strength. 

There  is  less  doubt  about  the  Latin  word  Deus  than  about 
the  Greek  word,  for  we  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  it 
comes  from  a  root  signifying  to  shine. 

The  origin  of  the  word  God  of  our  own  language  is  also 
clouded  in  obscurity.  One  thing  is  absolutely  certain  j  it 
has  no  root  connection  with  the  word  good.  In  all  proba- 
bility its  root  significance  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  the 
word  Theos ;  Some  one  to  be  implored  \  Some  one  to  whom 
sacrifice  is  offered. 

If  in  this  consideration  I  have  succeeded  in  showing  how 
ignorant  we  are  as  to  the  meaning  of  these  words,  that  is  in 
itself  a  preparation  and  a  revelation.  In  all  languages  the 
words  which  stand  for  the  Supreme  Being  represent  an 
abstract  idea;  and  yet  in  their  very  indefiniteness,  in  the 
fact  that  the  light  which  seems  to  be  upon  them,  when  we 
commence  to  examine  them,  merges  into  a  great  darkness, 
which  is  the  darkness  of  a  light  too  bright  to  be  examined, 
we  have  the  first  great  suggestion  about  God.  Thus  Jesus 
perpetually  used  a  word  that  attempted  no  definition,  but 
that  brought  to  the  mind  the  conception  of  a  Being,  of  an 
Existence,  and  of  a  conscious  Existence.  By  all  His  uses  of 
the  word  God,  we  realize  that  to  Him  God  was  One  exist- 
ing, apart  from  final  definition,  and  yet  forevermore  so  acting, 
as  to  make  it  possible  for  men  to  touch  Him,  to  come  into 
contact  with   Him,  to  have  definite  relationships  with  Him. 

The  second  of  these  words.  Father,  is  a  word  of  an  en- 
tirely different  kind,  bringing  the  mind  into  a  new  attitude 
in  thinking  of  God.  While  the  word  God  is  abstract,  and 
suggests  separation,  the  word  Father  is  relative,  and  sug- 
gests a  relation. 

Now   it    is   of  the   utmost   importance    that   we   shouU' 


Concerning  God  23 

understand  the  true  nature  of  the  relation  suggested ;  and  as 
we  give  close  attention  to  the  word  we  find  ourselves,  I 
think,  face  to  face  with  somewhat  astonishing  facts. 

The  word  Father  itself  does  not  at  all  suggest  what  we 
mean  by  father  to-day.  It  does  not  suggest  the  origination 
of  life.  The  Greek  word  so  translated,  the  Latin  word 
which  was  derived  from  the  Greek,  and  our  word  derived 
from  the  Latin,  suggest,  not  the  fountain  of  life,  not  the 
origin  of  life,  but  a  nourisher,  a  succourer,  one  who  cares 
for.  The  Aramaic  word  Jbba^  appearing  in  our  New 
Testament,  is  used  in  our  literal  and  immediate  sense,  but 
its  root  idea  is  figurative  and  remote. 

The  Father,  then,  is  One  Who  nourishes.  One  Who 
succours.  One  Who  cares  for;  One  Who  makes  His  sun 
to  shine  upon  the  evil  as  well  as  upon  the  good ;  One 
Whose  relationship  to  those  of  whom  He  is  Father,  is  the 
relationship  of  providence,  of  love  and  care,  of  thought, 
blessing  and  guidance.  Jesus  perpetually  spoke  of  God  as 
Father,  essentially  as  His  own  Father,  peculiarly  as  the  Fa- 
ther of  His  disciples,  inclusively  as  the  Father  of  all  men. 

Thus,  Father  is  a  word  that  suggests  a  relationship  be- 
tween that  God  Who  cannot  be  defined,  and  all  the  crea- 
tures of  His  hand.  We  are  not  now  discussing  the  question 
of  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  in  the  special  New  Testament 
sense  as  resulting  from  the  regeneration  of  the  individual. 
We  are  simply  taking  the  word  in  the  sense  in  which  our 
Lord  made  use  of  it,  as  a  revelation  of  God  in  His  attitude 
towards,  and  relationship  with,  men. 

The  final  word  to  be  considered  is  the  word  Lord.  Here 
again  we  have  a  word  suggesting  a  relationship.  A  careful 
examination  of  the  passages  containing  the  records  of  our 
Lord's  use  of  this  word  will  show  that,  when  using  it,  He 
was  invariably  quoting  from  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament.     It  may  be  that  His  quotations  were  from  the 


24  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Septuagint,  in  all  probability  they  were ;  and  therefore  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  Septuagint  was  successful  in 
hiding  certain  uses  of  the  titles  of  God,  which  are  of  the 
utmost  value  in  the  study  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  The 
Septuagint  uniformly  translated  the  Hebrew  word  Adonahy^ 
and  also  the  tetragrammaton,  Yhvh,  which  we  render 
Tahweh^  or  Jehovah  ;  by  the  Greek  word  Kurios.  Now  if 
we  examine  the  passages  which  our  Lord  quoted,  not  in  the 
Septuagint,  but  in  the  Hebrew  versions,  we  shall  find  that  the 
name  of  God  in  them  was  never  Adonahy.  So  that  every 
time  we  find  the  word  Lord  in  the  words  of  Jesus  about  God, 
we  know  that  the  thought  of  Jesus  was  that  of  the  Hebrew 
conception  of  God,  expressed   in   our  word  Jehovah. 

It  is  not  within  the  necessity  of  our  present  study  to 
enter  in  any  detail  into  the  discussion  of  the  suggestiveness 
of  that  title.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  suggestion  was 
not  that  of  the  self-existence  of  God  contained  in  the  word 
Elohim  with  which  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  open. 
Jehovah  suggested  rather  the  fact  that  this  Being,  incom- 
prehensible, utterly  beyond  the  possibility  of  finite  mind  to 
perfectly  understand,  accommodates  Himself  to  the  neces- 
sities of  His  people  ;  that  He  becomes  whatever  they  need 
in  the  piocesses  of  His  dealing  with  them.  There  arc  ex- 
positors of  the  New  Testament  who  tell  us  that  our  Lord 
carried  over  that  great  thought  from  the  Hebrew  economy 
into  the  New,  by  constantly  adopting  the  title  of  Father  for 
God,  as  we  have  exactly  the  same  thought  of  succoui 
therein.  I  should  personally  consider  that  there  is  a  dis- 
tinction between  them,  because  Jehovah  ultimately  suggests 
that  incarnation  by  which  God  became  flesh. 

Having  thus  considered  the  words,  we  may  now  attempt  to 
state  what  may  be  knov/n  of  the  One  Whom  Jesus  assumed. 

By  the  one  word  He  most  constantly  made  use  of,  which 
in  our  language  is  the  word  God,  He  assumed  the  being  and 


Concerning  God  23 

existence  of  One  of  Whom  final  definition  is  impossible. 
That  One  is,  according  to  the  suggestion  of  the  Greek 
word,  One  Who  may  be  implored,  to  Whom  piay^r  may 
be  made  ;  according  to  the  suggestion  of  the  Hebrew  word, 
One  all-sufficient  in  strength  ;  according  to  the  suggestion 
of  the  Latin  word.  One  shining  in  glory.  It  is  impossible 
to  define ;  but  the  fact  is  recognized  that,  behind  the  lilies, 
with  the  sparrows,  numbering  the  hairs  of  the  head,  close  at 
hand,  far  away,  annihilating  all  distance  in  His  Being, 
counting  no  time  in  the  fact  of  His  existence,  is  One. 
That  is  the  final  fact;  and  it  is  an  amazing  fact  to  us  be- 
cause we  are  finite  ;  for  Elohim  is  the  mightiest  name  of 
God,  more  wonderful  than  Jehovah^  if  we  were  able  to  com- 
prehend it.  Because  we  are  finite,  the  next,  and  perhaps 
in  the  light  of  the  first  fact,  the  yet  more  amazing  fact  is, 
that  Jesus  referred  to  this  One  as  Father;  recognizing  by 
that  name  His  relation  to  men,  as  the  Nourisher  of  men,  as 
the  Succourer  of  men,  as  the  One  Who  cares  for  men. 
Finally,  by  His  quotation  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  thought, 
He  recognized  that  the  methods  of  that  One  in  His  redemp- 
tion of  man  is  that  of  becoming  whatever  His  people  need,  in 
order  to  the  perfecting  of  those  upon  whom  His  love  is  set. 

Our  consideration  of  the  definite  and  explicit  declarations 
He  made  about  this  One  must  be  brief,  for  they  were  very  {qvj. 

About  God  He  made  one  such  declaration,  and  only  one  ; 
and  then,  as  I  have  already  pointed  out,  not  in  order  to 
make  the  declaration,  but  in  order  that  by  the  making  of  it. 
He  might  teach  another  lesson.  To  the  woman  of  Samaria 
He  said,  "  God  is  Spirit."  *  There  is  no  record  in  the  New 
Testament  of  any  other  essential  and  final  declaration  con- 
cerning God  from  the  lips  of  Jesus.  In  the  declaration 
there  are  two  values  :  the  word  God  suggested  Being,  and 
in  some  sense  of  the  word — more  wonderful  than  we  can 
*  John  iv.  24. 


26  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

comprehend — personality  ;  and  the  word  Spirit  suggested 
the  nature  of  the  personality,  Spirit  being  free  from  the 
limitation  of  space  and  time. 

Let  the  context  illuminate  the  declaration.  Our  Lord 
made  the  statement,  not  to  a  Jew,  but  to  a  Samaritan  ;  not 
to  a  man,  but  to  a  woman  j  not  to  a  fair  and  beautiful 
woman,  but  to  a  sinning  woman  ;  and  He  uttered  the  truth 
in  order  to  teach  that  woman  that  ultimately,  when  men 
knew  and  understood,  when  His  own  work  was  completed, 
worship  would  be  possible  anywhere,  no  one  place  and  no 
one  method  being  necessary  ;  no  longer  in  Jerusalem,  nor  in 
this  mountain,  but  wherever  the  worshipper  is,  who  worships 
in  spirit  and  in  truth,  there  worship  is  possible  ;  for  God  is 
Spirit.  Therefore  whether  it  be  in  cathedral  or  chapel  or 
conventicle  ;  or  away  from  all,  on  the  deep,  on  the  moun- 
tain height,  in  the  valley,  in  the  desert,  there  He  is  ;  and  if 
the  heart  be  true,  there  is  the  shrine,  there  is  the  place  of 
worship.  That  revelation  about  worship  was  the  reason  of 
the  declaration.  Thus  in  the  midst  of  that  teaching  came 
the  one  great  word  of  Christ  concerning  God,  mystic,  and 
utterly  beyond  our  final  analysis,  "  God  is  Spirit.'* 

As  to  our  Lord's  declaration  concerning  the  Father,  I  can 
but  take  illustrative  words,  for  there  were  many.  I  think 
three  will  suffice. 

In  Matthew  it  is  recorded  that  in  the  course  of  the  Mani- 
festo, twice  over  He  said  one  thing  about  God  as  Father ; 
practically  He  said  it  over  and  over  again,  but  twice  it  comes 
out  into  definite  form  :  "  Your  heavenly  Father  knoweth 
that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things."  * 

In  John  we  have  a  truth,  often  referred  to  in  many  differ- 
ent ways,  crystallized  into  a  definite  statement.  The  Lord 
healed  the  man  in  the  porches  of  Bethesda,  and  His  enemies 
were  criticizing  Him  for  breaking  Sabbath  ;  when  He  said, 
"  My  Father  worketh  even  until  now,  and  I  work.'*  * 

»  Matt.  vi.  8,  32.  «  John  v.  17. 


Concerning  God  27 

A  little  later  on,  in  the  same  Gospel  of  John,  it  is  recorded 
that  in  speaking  of  His  work  He  affirmed  definitely  a  truth 
which  was  constantly  illustrated  in  His  teaching  :  "  There- 
fore doth  the  Father  love  Me,  because  I  lay  down  My  life."  * 

I  say  these  are  but  illustrations.  If  we  take  the  whole  of 
His  teaching,  we  shall  find  these  truths  running  all  through 
His  statements  in  varying  applications  j  but  1  select  these 
because  of  their  definiteness. 

The  value  of  these  statements  we  may  epitomize  by  say- 
ing that  He  declared  that  the  Father  knows  all  the  need  of 
man  j  that  the  Father  is  at  work  in  the  midst  of  all  the  things 
that  cause  humanity  suffering,  that  He  knows  no  Sabbath 
because  man  has  lost  his  Sabbath  ;  that  the  Father  loves ; 
and  that  the  supreme  reason — a  mystic  and  awe-inspiring 
declaration — of  His  love  of  the  Son,  is  that  the  Son  gives 
Himself  to  die  for  the  saving  of  man. 

Concerning  the  fact  that  this  God  and  Father  is  Jehovah, 
He  made  only  one  declaration,  and  that  by  quotation. 
When  someone  asked  Him,  Which  is  the  great  command- 
ment ?  His  answer  was  immediately  given,  "Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  .  .  .  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself"  ;  ^  and  in  that  illumina- 
tive word  Jesus  taught  that  the  law  of  Jehovah  aims  at 
creating  love  in  the  heart  of  man  towards  Himself,  and 
towards  his  fellow  man  ;  and  therefore  that  His  law  must  be 
the  outcome  of  the  love  of  His  heart. 

Thus  the  supreme  truths  about  God  in  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  may  thus  be  briefly  stated  ;  God  in  Himself  is  Spirit ; 
towards  all  He  is  a  Father,  knowing,  working,  loving  in 
His  method  ;  and  He  is  Lord,  the  Author  of  a  law  born  of 
love,  and  intended  to  produce  love. 

All  this  however  but  prepares  for  the  final  teachmg.  That 
final  teaching  is  found  in  nothing  Jesus  said  about  God  either 
directly  or  incidentally.     He  is  in  Himself  the  final  teach- 

*  John  X.  17.  '  Matt.  xxii.  37,  39. 


28  The  Teaching  of  Chrfst 

ing.  This  is  His  claim  for  Himself:  "  I  came  out  from  the 
Father,  and  am  come  into  the  world  ;  again,  I  leave  the 
world,  and  go  unto  the  Father."  *  This  is  His  claim  con- 
cerning His  relation  to  His  Father  in  the  world  :  "  No  one 
knoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father ;  neither  doth  any  know 
the  Father  save  the  Son,  and  He  to  whomsoever  the  Son 
willeth  to  reveal  Him."^  This  is  His  claim  concerning  men  : 
"  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  dost  thou  not  know 
Me,  Philip  ?   he  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father."  ^ 

Thus,  inclusively.  He  claimed  that  if  men  saw  Him,  they 
saw  God  ;  that  His  final  teaching  concerning  God  was  not 
that  of  His  words,  but  that  of  Himself.  Therefore,  if  I 
would  know  this  God  Who  is  Spirit,  this  Father  Who 
knows  and  works  and  loves,  this  Lord  Who  is  Lawgiver, 
Himself  forevermore  becoming  what  I  need,  I  must  know 
Him  through  Jesus.  To  put  the  matter  in  another  way  ; 
if  I  know  this  Jesus — not  listen  merely  to  what  He  says,  but 
know  Him — then  from  Him  I  may  project  the  lines  into 
the  vastness  of  eternity,  and  they  will  include  the  fact  of 
God,  As  Charles  Wesley  dared  to  put  it  in  one  of  his  most 
magnificent  hymns,  in  Him  we  see  "  God  contracted  to  a 
span";  and  that  in  order  that  we  may  see,  that  we  may 
know,  that  we  may  understand. 

Our  study  of  the  teaching  of  Christ  concerning  God  must 
be  imperfect,  because  in  His  words  His  final  teaching  about 
God  is  not  contained.  Nevertheless,  in  the  words  we  have 
found  revealed  the  facts,  of  the  sovereignty  of  God  Who  is 
Spirit;  of  the  nearness  of  our  relationship  to  God  as  Father; 
of  the  perfection  of  His  method,  in  that  He  is  the  Lord, 
Author  of  a  law  of  love.  Himself  becoming  what  His  people 
need,  in  order  to  help  them  to  become. 

The  ultimate  unveiling  of  God  is  to  be  found  in  the  One 
Who  spoke  ;  Who  is  infinitely  more  than  all  the  words  thai 
ever  passed  His  lips;  because  He  is  Himself  the  Word  of  God 
1  John  xvi.  ^8.  •  MatL  xi.  27.  'John  xiv.  9. 


II.    CONCERNING  HIMSELF 


«« I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners." — Matthew  ix.  /j. 

*•  No  one  knoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father." — xi.  27. 

«'  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death." — xxvi.  j8. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners." — xxvi.  4^. 


'« For  verily  the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many." — Mark  x.  4J. 

**  But  of  that  day  or  that  hour  knoweth  no  one,  not  even  the  angels  in 
heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father." — xiit.  J2. 


'*  I  must  preach  the  good  tidings  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  to  the  other 
cities  also :  for  therefore  was  I  sent." — Lukf  iv.  43. 

**  The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  heaven  have  nests ;  but  the 
Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head." — ix.  j8. 

"  For  the  Son  of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost," — 
xix.  10. 


*'  And  no  man  hath  ascended  into  heaven,  but  He  that  descended  out 
of  heaven,  even  the  Son  of  Man,  which  is  in  heaven.  And  as  Moses  lifted 
up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up; 
that  whosoever  believeth  may  in  Him  have  eternal  life." — yo^n  Hi.  ij-14, 

"  My  Father  worketh  even  until  now,  and  I  work." — v.  ly. 

"  Even  so  the  Son  also  quickeneth  whom  He  will." — v.  21. 

"  I  came  forth  and  am  come  from  God." — viii.  42. 

"  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am." — viii.  58. 

"We  must  work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  Me,  while  it  is  day;  the 
night  Cometh,  when  no  man  can  work." — ix.  4. 

"  I  and  the  Father  are  One." — x.  jo. 

"  I  am  come  a  light  into  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Me  may 
not  abide  in  the  darkness." — xii.  46. 

"  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father." — xiv.  g. 

"  I  came  out  from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the  world ;  again,  I 
leave  the  world,  and  go  unto  the  Father." — xvi.  28. 


n 

CONCERNING  HIMSELF 

We  must  all  recognize  the  supreme  importance  of  the 
teaching  of  Christ  concerning  Himself.  In  an  address  de- 
livered from  the  Chair  of  the  Congregational  Union  in  1909, 
Mr.  J.  D.  Jones  of  Bournemouth  said,  "  The  Question, 
'  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  *  is  critical  for  the  future  of 
Christianity.  It  is  around  the  question  of  the  Person  of 
Christ  that  the  battle  wages.  .  .  .  Is  He  simply  the 
first  Christian,  or  is  He  the  sum  and  substance  of  Christi- 
anity ?  " 

The  enquiry  is  a  pertinent  one,  and  the  declaration  that 
we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  conflict  around  the  question  of  the 
Person  of  Christ  cannot  be  denied. 

In  the  midst  then  of  such  conflict,  we  turn  with  keen 
and  reverent  interest  to  the  consideration  of  His  teaching 
concerning  Himself. 

It  is  necessary  at  the  outset  that  we  recognize  the  limita- 
tions of  our  present  meditation.  We  are  limited  first  by 
the  fact  that  He  gave  no  systematic  teaching  concerning 
Himself.  He  never,  upon  any  occasion,  so  far  as  the 
records  reveal — and  we  have  no  other  means  of  knowing — 
addressed  the  multitudes  by  way  of  explanation  of  His  own 
Person  and  Being.  Neither  have  we  any  record  of  His 
gathering  His  disciples  about  Him,  in  order  that  He  might 
tell  them  all  the  truth  about  Himself.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  quite  evident  that  the  supreme  problem  of  the  men  of 
His  age  was  created  by  Himself.  His  enemies  and  His 
critics  over  and  over  again  asked  Him  for  some  clear  and 
specific  teaching  concerning  Himself,  "  Who  art  Thou  ?  " 

31 


32  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

— "  Whence  earnest  Thou  ?  "  His  disciples  were  evident!) 
equally  perplexed.  Both  foes  and  friends  were  conscious 
in  His  presence  of  more  than  they  could  account  for;  and 
were  eager  to  hear  His  own  declaration  concerning  the  mys- 
tery of  His  Being;  but  He  never,  by  direct  and  systematic 
teaching,  answered  the  enquiry  either  of  friends  or  foes.  In. 
deed,  I  think  it  would  not  be  too  strong  a  statement  to  make 
were  I  to  say  that,  according  to  His  own  declaration  recorded 
by  John,'  He  avoided  all  such  teaching.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  impossible  to  read  the  words  of  Jesus,  as  they  are  re- 
corded for  us  in  these  four  narratives,  without  seeing  quite 
clearly  that  the  implications  of  His  teaching  constitute  a 
revelation  of  His  Person. 

We  are  also  limited  in  this  study  by  the  fact  that  from  His 
references  to  Himself  we  shall  select,  for  our  p'-esent  use, 
only  those  which  are  essential  and  inclusive. 

I  propose  therefore,  first,  to  group  certain  of  His  state- 
ments concerning  Himself,  in  which  statements  He  made 
use  of  revealmg  terms  ;  and  secondly,  therefrom  to  make  a 
deduction  of  values. 

First  then,  let  us  gather  from  the  mass  of  material  at  our 
disposal  in  the  four  Gospels  certain  outstanding  statements 
of  our  Lord.  These  we  shall  group  under  three  headings : 
first,  passages  containing  terms  of  existence  ;  secondly,  pas- 
sages containing  terms  of  relation  ;  and  thirdly,  passages  con- 
taining terms  of  purpose.  In  the  light  of  these  passages  we 
shall  see  something  of  what  our  Lord  taught  concerning 
Himself;  as  to  the  mystery  of  His  Being,  as  to  His  relation- 
ship both  to  God  and  man,  and  as  to  the  meaning  or  pur- 
pose of  His  presence  in  our  world. 

We  then  take  first  the  Scriptures  which  contain  terms 
dealing  with  the  fact  of  His  existence.  Certain  things  Christ 
said  of  Himself,  either  in  fo/mal  declaration,  or  incidentally, 
» John  V.  30-38. 


Concerning  Himself  g^ 

reveal  His  self-consciousness,  as  apart  from  His  relationship, 
either  to  God  or  to  man.  These  again  may  be  grouped 
under  two  headings.  In  certain  passages  He  spoke  out  of 
an  eternal  consciousness  ;  or  I  should  prefer  to  change  the 
word  eternal,  and  adopt  that  which  is  its  equivalent,  but 
which  far  better  conveys  the  real  meaning  of  the  New 
Testament  word  ;  He  spoke  out  of  an  age-abiding  conscious- 
ness. In  other  passages  there  are  terms  which  reveal  His 
temporal  consciousness ;  or  terms  which  show  that  He  was 
speaking,  as  of  the  age  in  which  He  lived,  and  as  conscious 
of  its  limitations. 

I  have  selected,  rather  by  way  of  illustration  than  in  any 
attempt  to  exhaust  the  theme,  three  passages  in  which  I  find 
the  terms  of  eternity,  the  age-abiding  terms.  Let  us  first  read 
them.  I  shall  quite  deliberately  lift  these  passages  out  of  their 
context,  in  order  that  we  may  consider  them  in  their  lone- 
liness. This  is  not  to  do  any  violence  to  them,  because  the 
context  in  noway  modifies  their  meaning  in  this  application. 

These  then  are  the  three  passages: 

"  I  came  forth,  and  am  come  from  God."  * 

"  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am."  ^ 

. "  I   came   out   from   the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the 
world  j  again,  I  leave  the  world,  and  go  unto  the  Father."  ^ 

Almost  all  the  great  declarations  of  Christ  revealing  His 
eternal  consciousness,  and  concerning  His  relationship  to 
God,  are  found  in  the  Gospel  according  to  John.  Bishop 
Westcott  said  of  this  Gospel,  "  The  Gospel  of  St.  John  from 
first  to  last  is  a  record  of  the  conflict  between  men's 
thoughts  of  Christ,  and  Christ's  revelation  of  Himself." 

The  first  of  these  statements,  "  I  came  forth,  and  am  come 

from   God,"  ^  is  a  most  remarkable  word,  not  describing  a 

fellowship  of  nearness  with  God,  but  one  which  is  essential. 

The  real  suggestion  of  the  declaration,  "  I  came  forth  from 

» John  viii.  42.      '  /did.,  viii.  58.       ^  /die/.,  xvi.  28.      ^  /dicf.,  viii.  42. 


34  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

God,"  is  not  that  He  came  from  the  side  of  God,  from  com- 
panionship with  God,  as  an  angel  might ;  but  that  He  came 
out  of  the  essential  mystery  of  the  Being  of  God. 

The  declaration,  '^  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am,"  '  was  in- 
troduced by  that  formula  of  which  He  occasionally  made  use 
when  desiring  to  fasten  attention  upon  a  subject :  "Verily, 
verily."  This  moreover  was  a  direct  and  intended  contrast 
on  His  part  between  the  temporal  and  the  eternal.  "  Abra- 
ham was  "  ;  that  is  a  term  of  the  temporal ;  but  before  that, 
"  I  am,"  which  in  that  contrast  becomes  distinctly  a  term 
of  the  eternal. 

In  the  last  of  these  three  passages  we  have  a  perfect  sum- 
mary of  the  whole  mission  of  Christ  as  recorded  in  the 
Gospels,  "...  from  the  Father  .  .  .  into  the  world 
.     .     .     leave  the  world     .     .     .     unto  the  Father."  ^ 

It  is  impossible, and  unnecessary  for  us  to  consider  fully  the 
value  of  these  words  separately.  The  fact  to  be  observed  is 
that  our  Lord  referred  to  Himself  in  such  a  way  that  the  im- 
plication of  His  references  is  that  of  an  age-abidmg  existence. 
It  is  important  that  we  notice  the  persistence  of  the  Ego,  of  the 
"  I,"  of  the  Person,  through  these  passages  :  "  /  came  forth, 
and  am  come  from  God  "  ;  "Before  Abraham  was,  /am  "  ;  "J 
came  out  ...  am  come  into  .  .  .  /  leave  .  .  .  and  go 
unto." 

Herein  is  no  definite  or  systematic  declaration  or  claim  of 
preexistence ;  and  yet  herein  is  the  consciousness  of  a  per- 
sistent existence;  or  the  vapourings  of  a  diseased  mind;  or 
the  false  claims  of  an  impostor.  The  Ego  is  persistent; 
existing  before  the  coming,  or  there  could  have  been  no 
coming  ;  present  in  the  world,  and  evidently  set  forth  before 
the  eyes  of  men  in  guise  suited  to  their  ability  to  appreciate  j 
and  about  to  leave  the  world,  but  not  to  cease  to  be.  These 
are  the  eternal  terms,  the  age-abiding  terms,  in  which  He 
» John  viii.  58.  «  Uid.,  xvi.  23. 


Concerning  Himself  35 

?poke  of  Himself;  and  the  inevitable  implication  is  that  of 
an  eternal,  or  an  age-abiding  consciousness. 

Turning  next  to  those  terms  of  existence  which  were 
purely  temporal ;  those  references  to  Himself  which  indicated 
His  relation  to  the  conditions  of  the  age  in  which  He  spoke ; 
and  which  mark  His  sense  of  the  limitations  of  time  and 
locality,  and  His  sense  of  the  common  experiences  of  hu- 
manity, we  will  group  seven  such  passages,  indicating  in 
each  case  the  particular  sense  suggested. 

The  first  two  indicate  His  sense  of  the  limitations  of  time 
and  locality  :  "  We  must  work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent 
Me,  while  it  is  day  :  the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can 
work.'*  *     That  was  the  sense  of  time. 

"  I  must  preach  the  good  tidings  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
*o  the  other  cities  also  :  for  therefore  was  I  sent."  ^  That 
was  the  sense  of  locality. 

The  next  five  reveal  His  sense  of  the  common  experience 
of  men  :  "  Of  that  day  or  that  hour  knoweth  no  one,  not 
even  the  angels  in  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father.**  * 
That  was  the  sense  of  limited  knowledge. 

"  The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  heaven  have 
nests  ;  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His 
head.'*  *     That  was  the  sense  of  poverty. 

"  No  one  knoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father.**  ^  That 
was  the  sense  of  loneliness. 

"  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death.'*  ® 
That  was  the  sense  of  sorrow. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners." ' 
That  was  the  sense  of  human  weakness. 

From  these  illustrations,  which  can  easily  be  changed  01 

*  John  ix.  4.  •  B  Matt.  xi.  27. 

'  Luke  iv.  43.  «  Ibid.,  xxvi.  38. 

*  Mark  xiii.  32.  »  Ibid.,  xxvi.  45. 

*  Luke  ix.  58. 


{6  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

multiplied,  we  may  recognize  that  His  common  speech  con- 
cerning  Himself  was  that  of  One  sharing  in  every  way  in  the 
conditions  of  His  age^  and  the  experiences  of  humanity. 
Thus  we  find  declarations,  formally  made,  or  incidentally 
falling  from  His  lips,  which  reveal  the  consciousness  of  a 
Being  both  superior  to  His  own  age,  and  subsisting  in  ali 
ages;  and  therefore  ageless,  timeless,  age-abiding,  eternal. 
And  we  find  that  He  was  conscious  also  of  the  limitations 
of  time  and  space ;  that  He  did  not  know  the  day  or  the 
hour;  that  He  knew  poverty,  that  He  knew  loneliness, 
that  He  knew  sorrow,  that  He  knew  weakness;  all  the  things 
of  one  age,  its  limitations  and  its  human  experiences. 

Passing  now  to  the  Scriptures  which  contain  the  terms 
revealing  the  fact  of  His  relationships,  these  may  also  be 
grouped  under  two  heads :  those  revealing  His  relation  to 
God,  and  those  showing  His  relation  to  men. 

Those  revealing  His  relation  to  God  are  found  in  the 
Gospel  according  to  John.  His  consciousness  of  relation 
to  God  is  revealed  as  twofold  :  a  consciousness  of  relation 
as  to  nature,  and  a  consciousness  of  relation  as  to  activity. 

There  are  two  great  words  revealing  His  consciousness 
as  to  nature :  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one."  *  "  He  that 
hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father."  ^ 

There  are  also  two  words  revealing  His  consciousness  as 
to  activity  :  "  My  Father  worketh  even  until  now,  and  I 
work."  ^  "  As  the  Father  raiseth  the  dead  and  quickeneth 
them,  even  so  the  Son  also  quickeneth  whom  He  will."* 

Our  present  interest  centres  not  m  the  connection  of 
these  words,  important  though  it  is,  but  in  the  actual  declara- 
tions. Notice  the  two  affirmations  concerning  His  con- 
scious relationship  to  God  as  to  nature.  "  I  and  the  Father 
are  one."  *     That  is  a  solemn  and  separate  claim  in  which 

»  John  X.  30.  « Ibid.,  v.  17.  6  Ibid.^  x.  30. 

»  Ibid.,  xiv.  9.  *  Ibid.,  v.  21. 


Concerning  Himself  37 

every  single  word,  properly  considered,  is  full  of  value  and 
su22estiveness  ;  and  it  is  well  that  we  should  notice  the  effect 

DO  ' 

produced  by  these  words  upon  the  Jews  who  first  heard  them, 
for  as  we  observe  that  effect,  we  shall  discover  their  under- 
standing of  His  meaning.  "  The  Jews  took  up  stones  again 
to  stone  Him ;  "  and  that,  as  they  said,  "  because  that  Thou, 
being  a  man,  makest  Thyself  God."  '  So  it  is  impossible  to 
misunderstand  their  interpretation  of  our  Lord's  meaning. 
They  knew  that  it  was  a  word  in  which  He  claimed  essen- 
tial and  absolute  unity  and  identity  of  nature  with  God  Him- 
self. In  other  words,  it  was  a  claim  to  absolute  Deity ;  and 
there  can  be  no  escape  from  it ;  there  is  only  one  way  to  be 
rid  of  it,  and  that  is  to  blot  it  out,  and  to  deny  that  He  said 
it.  If  we  retain  it,  we  must  worship  Him;  or  else  declare 
that  these  were  the  vapourings  of  a  disordered  mind,  or  the 
words  of  the  most  terrible  impostor  the  world  has  ever  heard. 
"  I  and  the  Father  are  one."     Nothing  can  be  clearer. 

Equally  clear,  and  yet  slightly  different  in  application,  was 
the  word  spoken  to  Philip ;  but  here  again  it  is  impossible  to 
mistake  the  meaning  in  the  light  of  the  context.  "Show  us 
the  Father,"  said  Philip,  "and  it  sufficeth  us."  "  Have  I 
been  so  long  with  you,  and  dost  thou  not  know  Me,  Philip  ? 
He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father."  ^  Some  declare 
that  the  first  words  may  be  used  by  any  man,  "  I  and  the 
Father  are  one."  Is  any  man  prepared  to  say  the  same  of 
the  second,  "  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father  "  ? 
Linking  the  two  together  we  have  our  Lord's  definite  claim 
to  a  relationship  with  God,  which  is  that  of  identity  of  na- 
ture, and  absolute  though  mysterious  unity  of  Being. 

Then  notice  the  declarations  in  which  He  revealed  His 

relationship  to  God  in  activity.     "  My  Father  worketh  even 

until  now,  and  I  work."  ^     Once  again,  ere  we  suggest  any 

interpretation  of  the  meaning  of  these  words,  it  is  well  to 

»  John  X.  31,  33.  »  Ibid.^  xiv.  8,  9.  *  Ibid.,  v.  17. 


38  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

observe  the  effect  produced  upon  the  men  who  1  stened  to 
them:  "  For  this  cause  therefore  the  Jews  sought  ^he  more 
to  kill  Him,  because  He  not  only  brake  the  Sab!)ath,  but 
also  called  God  His  own  Father,  making  Himself  e<[ual  with 
GodJ*^  *  Our  Lord's  declaration  in  these  words  was  that  His 
relationship  to  God  as  to  activity  was  that  of  cooperation. 
God  was  at  work  in  the  midst  of  human  suffering  anc^  lim- 
itation, moving  forward  towards  healing  and  restoration; 
and  He  was  cooperating  with  Him  in  that  very  work;  and 
moreover  He  explained  His  own  claim  in  the  second  declara- 
tion, "  Even  so  the  Son  also  quickeneth  whom  He  will."  ^ 
This,  He  said  in  effect,  is  the  teaching  contained  in  the 
man's  healing  by  the  pool;  this  is  God's  act;  He  gives  life 
to  the  dead,  renewal  to  the  impotent.  Thus  Christ  claimed 
that  \n  the  very  works  He  wrought  He  was  cooperating 
with  God,  and  that  His  work  was  the  Divine  work,  of  re- 
creation and  regeneration. 

But  now  turn  to  the  terms  of  His  relationship  to  men. 
This  He  expressed  through  all  His  ministry  by  the  almost 
persistent  use  of  one  particular  title  to  describe  Himself; 
namely,  that  of  "  the  Son  of  Man." 

The  term,  "  the  Son  of  Man,"  occurs  in  Matthew  thirty- 
two  times,  in  Aiark  fifteen  times,  in  Luke  twenty-six  times, 
and  in  John  twelve  times.  In  the  first  three  Gospels  the 
title  is  always  recorded  as  having  been  used  by  Christ  of 
Himself,  and  never  by  angel,  by  man,  or  by  demon.  Of 
the  twelve  occasions  in  John,  ten  are  from  the  lips  of 
Christ ;  twice  only  was  the  expression  used  by  men,  and 
then  in  the  spirit  of  criticism  and  unbelief:  "We  have 
heard  out  of  the  law  that  the  Christ  abideth  forever:  and 
how  sayest  Thou,  The  Son  of  Man  must  be  lifted  up  ?  Who 
is  this  Son  of  Man  ?  "  ^  Those  are  the  only  two  occasions 
in  all  the  Gospels  where  the  terra  ifi  found  upon  the  lips  of 
*  Johs'f.  i**.  *  Ibid.,  r  ^-  ^  «*«<£-  xi}.  54. 


Concerning  Himself  39 

any  but  Christ.  The  term  Son  of  Man  was  never  used  by 
angel  or  demon  or  man  except  upon  this  occasion.  It  is 
Christ's  own  description  of  Himself,  and  it  is  the  term  that 
links  Him  to  humanity,  shows  His  intimate  and  positive 
relationship  to  the  human  race. 

For  particular  illustration  I  take  the  story  of  the  tempta 
(ion,  where  the  Lord  is  seen  standing  entirely  upon  the  level 
of  humanity.  He  was  in  the  wilderness,  being  tempted  as 
man,  as  representative  man ;  and  that  is  not  my  view  merely, 
it  was  His  own  statement.  In  answer  to  the  first  tempta- 
tion He  said  .  "  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone."  *  That  is  to  say,  in  effect,  I  am  in  this  wilderness 
on  the  human  level,  as  the  Son  of  Man  taking  the  place 
every  other  man  has  to  take  ;  and  I  obey  the  law  of  God 
that  conditions  the  life  of  humanity.  In  answer  to  the 
second  temptation.  He  said  :  "  It  is  written,  Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou 
serve;  "^  and  thus  He  put  Himself  within  the  Divine 
limitation  of  every  other  human  life,  and  declared  that  He 
was  living  according  to  the  law  which  every  other  man 
must  obey  if  he  would  come  to  the  fulfillment  of  his  life. 
In  answer  to  the  third  of  these  temptations.  He  said  :  "  It 
is  said.  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God."  ^  Thus 
He  declared  that  the  law  which  governed  Him  was  exactly 
the  same  as  that  which  governed  other  men.  Therefore 
the  terms  that  indicate  His  relationship  to  men  are  those 
that  prove  His  absolute  kinship  with  the  human  race.  His 
complete  identification  with  human  experience. 

Finally,  let  us  examme  the  terms  which  reveal  the  mean- 
ing and  purpose  of  His  presence  in  manifested  form  in  hu- 
man history. 

These  deal  with  the  Mission,  and  the  Method. 

In  dealing  with  the  Mission  we  propose  to  take  one  cen- 
•  t,uke  iv.  4.  •  Ibid.,  iv.  8.  « Ibid.^  iv.  12. 


40  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

tral  and  illuminative  statement  from  each  evangelist.  It  will 
be  understood  that  these  passages  are  only  illustrative.  The 
supreme  and  almost  overwhelming  difficulty  in  this  whole 
study  is  the  mass  of  material.  In  examining  these  state- 
ments we  must  be  very  careful  to  interpret  the  "  I  "  in  each 
case  by  the  matter  we  have  considered  ;  and  we  must  be 
careful  to  understand  the  declaration,  "  I  came,"  in  the  light 
of  that  revelation  of  personal  consciousness  of  Being,  which 
we  have  also  considered. 

"  I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners."  ^ 

"  For  verily  the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many."  * 

"  For  the  Son  of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost."  ^ 

"  No  man  hath  ascended  into  heaven,  but  He  that  de- 
scended out  of  heaven,  even  the  Son  of  Man,  which  is  in 
heaven.  And  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilder- 
ness, even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up  :  that  who- 
soever believeth  may  in  Him  have  age-abiding  life."  * 

What  a  grouping  of  declarations  is  here  !  How  abso- 
lutely they  are  fitted  to  the  atmosphere  in  which  they  are 
found  !  In  Matthew,  which  is  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom, 
we  have  the  dignity  of  the  eternal  King  in  the  "  I  came," 
and  immediately  the  picture  is  that  of  this  King  seeking  to 
save  sinners.  In  Mark,  which  is  the  Gospel  of  the  Servant, 
and  in  Luke,  the  Gospel  of  the  Man,  we  have  the  term 
"the  Son  of  Man,"  identifying  Him  with  humanity,  linked 
with  the  verb  that  marks  His  eternal  consciousness,  "  came." 
In  the  Gospel  of  John,  the  Gospel  of  His  essential  Deity 
veiled  in  flesh,  we  have  the  strange  merging  of  the  human 
and  the  Divine  :  "  No  man  hath  ascended  into  heaven,  but 
He   that  descended  out  of  heaven,  even  the  Son  of  Man, 

1  Matt.  ix.  13.  3  Luke  xix.  10. 

*  Mark  x.  45.  ^  John  iii.  13, 14. 


Concerning  Himself  41 

which  is  in  heaven  '* ;  and  then  the  declaration  that  the  Son 
of  Man  must  be  lifted  up  that  "whosoever believeth  may  in 
Him  have  eternal  life  " — that  is,  age-abiding  life,  which  is 
the  life  of  the  Son  of  Man,  in  the  essential  fact  of  His  being. 
There  is  no  systematic  teaching  here  as  to  His  purpose, 
but  the  doctrine  is  quite  clear.  The  first  declaration,  the 
one  chronicled  by  Matthew,  was  made  in  answer  to  the 
criticism  of  the  Pharisees,  uttered  on  account  of  His  famil- 
iarity with  publicans  and  sinners.  He  said  in  effect,  I  am 
in  the  world  to  seek  these  very  people,  and  not  to  seek  you 
if  you  are  righteous  men  !  I  came  to  give  these  men  re- 
pentance. The  declaration  recorded  by  Mark  was  in  cor- 
rection of  His  own  self-seeking  disciples,  who  wanted  thrones 
of  power :  "  The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for 
many."  The  declaration  found  in  Luke  was  made  in  an- 
swer to  criticism  because  He  had  accepted  the  hospitality  of 
Zacchaeus,  and  in  order  to  explain  the  transformation 
wrought  in  the  man  which  made  him  disgorge  his  ill-gotten 
wealth,  and  return  it  to  the  poor.  He  said  the  Son  of  Man 
came  to  do  that  very  thing — to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost. 
The  declaration  recorded  by  John  was  made  to  an  inquirer 
who  sought  Him  in  the  silence  and  hush  of  the  night,  and 
asked  how  could  any  man  have  new  life,  and  be  born  again. 
To  him  Jesus  said  that  the  Son  of  Man,  Who  is  in  Heaven, 
and  descended  out  of  it,  and  is  here,  must  be  lifted  up,  and 
so  His  life  will  be  liberated  that  others  may  share  it. 

Thus,  in  august  and  marvellous  simplicity.  He  unfolded 
the  purpose  of  His  presence  in  the  world  ;  the  presence  in 
the  world  of  the  One  Whose  consciousness  was  eternal  and 
temporal.  Whose  relation  was  with  God  and  with  man,  in 
each  case  in  complete,  though  mysterious,  identity. 

In  other  Scriptures  we  have  a  revelation  of  His  method 
the  fulfillment  of  the  mission.     His  method  as  to  God  was 


42  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

that  of  submission  and  cooperation.  The  first  was  sug- 
gested by  His  recorded  words,  "I  must  be  about  My 
Father's  business."  ^  The  second  was  declared  in  the  word 
aheady  used  m  another  application,  "  My  Father  worketh 
even  until  now,  and  I  work."  ^ 

His  method  in  regard  to  men  was  that  of  revelation  and 
redemption.  He  was  in  the  world  for  revelation  :  "  I  am 
come  a  light  into  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Me 
may  not  abide  in  the  darkness."  ^  He  came  for  redemption  : 
"  I  came  to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth  j  and  what  do  I  desire, 
would  that  it  were  already  kindled  !  But  1  have  a  baptism  to 
be  baptized  with  ;  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accom- 
plished." ^  Reverently  expressing  the  thought  in  other  words, 
He  said,  I  am  here  not  merely  for  revelation  of  light;  I  am 
here  for  redemption,  and  that  can  only  be  provided  by  death. 

This  is  a  hasty,  and,  in  view  of  the  wonder  of  the  teach- 
ing, an  unsatisfactory  grouping  of  the  recorded  statements. 
In  briefest  sentences,  therefore,  let  us  attempt  a  deduction 
of  values  from  this  teaching  of  Christ  concerning  Himself. 

He  claimed  a  supernatural  existence — that  is,  an  exist- 
ence indefinable  by  the  terms  applicable  to  man,  considered 
merely  as  the  crown  of  creation.  Supernatural  is  an  awk- 
ward word  ;  it  will  become  obsolete  when  we  have  more 
light.  If  we  could  climb  to  the  height  where  God  dwells, 
things  we  call  supernatural  would  be  perfectly  natural ;  but 
using  the  word  in  our  ordinary  sense,  Christ  claimed  to  be 
other  than  the  men  by  whom  He  was  surrounded.  He 
claimed  prior  existence,  in  that  He  said  He  was,  before  He 
came.  He  claimed  infinite  existence,  in  that  while  He  was 
yet  present  in  the  limitations  of  time  and  space.  He  spoke 
of  being  in  the  bosom  of  tne  Father,  and  in  heaven  itself 
He  claimed  indestructible  existence,  in  that  while  He  spoke 

*  Luke  ii.  49.  ^  Ibid.,  xii.  46. 

'  John  V.  17.  ^  Luke  xii.  49,  50. 


Concerning  Himself  43 

of  laying  down  His  life,  He  declared  that  He  would  take  it 
again,  and  that  no  man  could  destroy  it. 

He  also  claimed  a  natural  existence — that  is,  an  existence 
definable  by  the  terms  applicable  to  man  as  the  crown  of  cre- 
ation. He  claimed  to  live  as  a  man  ;  in  subjection  to  God; 
limited  in  knowledge  and  in  power  ;  finding  all-sufficient  re- 
source in  God  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  will  of  God. 

He  claimed,  moreover,  that  He  was  in  the  world  for  the 
express  purpose  of  saving  men,  and  restoring  a  lost  order; 
and  He  explicitly  declared  that  this  purpose  could  not  be 
fulfilled  save  by  His  death  and  resurrection;  and  that  in  the 
accomplishment  of  death  and  resurrection  He  was  working 
in  the  will  of  God  and  in  cooperation  with  Him. 

It  will  be  recognized  that  this  study  is  intensive  rather 
than  extensive.  We  might  consider  the  teaching  of  the 
Lord  concerning  Himself  as  the  Revealer  of  the  Father  in  a 
series  of  studies  based  upon  His  outstanding  declarations  in 
the  Gospel  of  John.  Or,  on  the  other  hand,  we  might 
consider  the  teaching  of  the  Lord  concerning  Himself  as  the 
Redeemer  of  men,  based  upon  outstanding  declarations  of 
His  ministry  as  recorded  by  all  the  evangelists. 

These,  however,  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  our 
present  intention.  We  have  simply  attempted  to  grasp  the 
bare  outline  of  His  teaching  concerning  Himself.  We  desire 
to  find  Christ  according  to  His  own  estimate;  and  we  most 
fittingly  close  our  study  and  express  our  conviction  in  the 
words  of  the  great  apostle  when  he  wrote  to  Timothy : 

**  And  confessedly  great  is  the  sacred  secret  of  godliness, 
Who  was  made  manifest  in  flesh. 
Who  was  declared  righteous  in  spirit. 
Was  made  visible  unto  messengers. 
Was  proclaimed  among  nations. 
Was  believed  on  in  the  world. 
Was  taken  up  in  glory."  ^ 

*  I  Tim.  iii.  i6.     (Rotherham's  Translation.) 


IIL    THE  SPIRIT 


« It  IS  not  ye  that  speak,  E/uc  cnc  spirit  of  your  Father  that  speaketh  in 
you." — Matthew  x.  20. 

"  But  if  I  by  the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out  devils,  then  is  the  kingdom  of 
God  come  upon  you." — xii.  28. 

"  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Every  sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven 
unto  men;  but  the  blasphemy  against  the  Spirit  shall  not  be  forgiven. 
And  whosoever  shall  speak  a  word  against  the  Son  of  Man,  it  shall  be 
forgiven  him ;  but  whosoever  shall  speak  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  shall 
not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  that  which  is  to 
come." — xii.  31,32- 

"  Go  ye  therefore,  and  disciple  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the 
name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." — xxviii.  ig. 


"  Whosoever  shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  never  for- 
giveness, but  is  guilty  of  an  eternal  sin." — Mark  Hi.  2g. 

"  David  himself  said  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies  the  footstool  of  thy 
feet." — xii.  36. 

"  And  when  they  lead  you  to  judgment,  and  deliver  you  up,  be  not 
anxious  beforehand  what  ye  shall  speak:  but  whatsoever  shall  be  given 
you  in  that  hour,  that  speak  ye  :  for  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Holy 
Ghost." — xiii.  11. 

"  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  disbc- 
lieveth  shall  be  condemned." — xvi.  /6. 


"  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  Him  ?  " — Luke  xi.  13. 

"  And  every  one  who  shall  speak  a  word  against  the  Son  of  Man,  it  shall 
be  forgiven  him :  but  unto  him  that  blasphemeth  against  the  Holy  Spirit 
it  shall  not  be  forgiven.  And  when  they  bring  you  before  the  synagogues, 
and  the  rulers,  and  the  authorities,  be  not  anxious  how  or  what  ye  shall 
answer,  or  what  ye  shall  say :  for  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  teach  you  in  that 
very  hour  what  ye  ought  to  say." — xii.  jo-12. 

«•  I  came  to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth ;  and  what  will  I,  if  it  is  already 
kindled  ?  But  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with ;  and  how  am  I 
straitened  till  it  be  accomplished  1  " — xii.  ^9,  ^a. 


«  And  behold,  I  send  forth  the  promise  of  My  Father  upon  you :  but 
tarry  ye  in  the  city,  until  ye  be  clothed  with  power  from  on  high." 
— xxiv.  4g. 


"  For  John  indeed  baptized  with  water ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence.' — Acts  i.  S- 

"  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you  : 
and  ye  shall  be  My  witnesses  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea  and 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth." — *.  8. 


"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and 
the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  ot  God.  That  which  is  born 
of  the  flesh  is  flesh  ;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel 
not  that  I  said  unto  thee,  Ye  must  be  born  anew.  The  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  voice  thereof,  but  knowest  not 
whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth :  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of 
*iie  Spirit."— >/J«  m.  j-^. 

"  Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never 
thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  become  in  him  a  well  of 
vater  springing  up  unto  eternal  life." — iv^  14. 

"  Now  on  the  last  day,  the  great  day  of  the  feast,  Jesus  stood  and  cried, 
saying.  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  Me,  and  drink.  He  that 
believeth  on  Me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow 
rivers  of  living  water.  But  this  spake  He  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that 
believed  on  Him  were  to  receive :  for  the  Spirit  was  not  yet  given  j 
because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified." — vii.  37-SQ. 

"  And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  another  Comforter, 
that  He  may  be  with  you  forever,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth .  Whom  the 
world  cannot  receive;  for  it  beholdeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth  Him: 
ye  know  Him  ;  for  He  abideth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you.  I  will  not 
leave  you  desolate :  I  come  unto  you.  Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  world 
beholdeth  Me  no  more ;  but  ye  behold  Me :  because  I  live,  ye  shall  live 
also.  In  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  My  Father,  and  ye  in  Me, 
and  I  in  you." — xiv.  16-20. 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  while  yet  abiding  with  you. 
But  the  Comforter,  even  the  Holy  Spirit,  Whom  the  Father  will  send  in 
My  name,  He  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  to  your  remembrance 
all  that  I  said  unto  you." — xtv.  ^J^J^ 


"  But  when  the  Comforter  is  come,  Whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the 
Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth.  Which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  He 
shall  bear  witness  of  Me :  and  ye  also  bear  witness,  because  ye  have  been 
with  Me  from  the  beginning." — xv.  26,  sy. 

'*  Nevertheless  I  tell  you  the  truth  ;  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go 
away :  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you ;  but 
if  I  go,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you.  And  He,  when  He  is  come,  will  con- 
vict the  world  in  respect  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment : 
of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  Me  ;  of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to 
the  Father,  and  ye  behold  Me  no  more ;  of  judgment,  because  the  prince 
of  this  world  hath  been  judged.  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you, 
but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  Howbeit  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is 
come,  He  shall  guide  you  into  all  the  truth :  for  He  shall  not  speak  from 
Himself;  but  what  things  soever  He  shall  hear,  these  shall  He  speak : 
and  He  shall  declare  unto  you  the  things  that  are  to  come.  He  shall 
glorify  Me  :  for  He  shall  take  of  Mine,  and  shall  declare  it  unto  you.  All 
things  whatsoever  the  Father  hath  are  Mine:  therefore  said  I,  that  He 
taketh  of  Mine,  and  shall  declare  it  unto  you."— jr^z.  7-/5. 

"  Jesus  therefore  said  to  them  again,  Peace  be  unto  you :  as  the  Father 
hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  He  had  said  this,  He 
breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost: 
whose  soever  sins  ye  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  unto  them;  whose  soever 
sins  ye  retain,  they  are  reta^ined." —xx.  21-2J. 


Ill 

THE  SPIRIT 

Any  one  thus  tabulating  the  words  of  Christ  concerning 
the  Spirit,  as  they  are  recorded  by  the  four  evangelists,  will 
be  inevitably  impressed  by  certain  facts  which  need  to  be 
stated  as  introductory  to  our  study. 

First  there  is  no  systematic  instruction  concerning  the 
existence  of  the  Spirit;  but  nevertheless  there  are  certain 
assumptions,  revealed  in  references  to  the  Spirit,  which  suf- 
ficiently indicate  our  Lord's  thought  in  this  matter. 

Secondly,  in  our  Lord's  public  ministry  His  references 
to  the  Holy  Spirit,  while  comparatively  (ew^  were  never- 
theless awe-inspiring  and  arresting. 

Thirdly,  on  the  eve  of  His  departure  He  gave  to  the 
inner  circle  of  His  disciples  comprehensive  teaching,  not 
on  the  existence  or  nature  of  the  Spirit,  but  concerning 
the  work  of  the  Spirit  during  the  Christian  era. 

The  material  at  our  disposal,  then,  in  these  Gospel  narra- 
tives, for  discovering  the  teaching  of  our  Lord,  is  first,  the 
references  during  His  public  ministry ;  and  secondly,  the 
particular  teaching  given  to  His  own  disciples  prior  to  His 
departure. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  first  of  these  three  facts,  namely, 
the  absence  of  systematic  teaching  concerning  the  nature 
of  the  Spirit,  we  will  examine,  first,  the  general  teaching  of 
His  public  ministry ;  and  secondly,  the  particular  teaching 
of  the  Paschal  discourses. 

The  words  in  the  former  class  were  spoken  not  at  one 
time,  nor  systematically  ;  but  at  difi^erent  times,  and  incident- 
ally, in  the  course  of  our  Lord's  public  ministry. 

49 


50  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

An  examination  of  the  fourfold  Gospel  narrative  shows 
that  Matthew  recorded  four  references  by  Christ  to  the  Holy 
Spirit,  Mark  four,  Luke  seven,  and  John  four.  Some  of 
these  references  of  the  Lord  are  recorded  by  more  than  one 
of  the  evangelists. 

Having  first  set  these  out  as  separate  statements,  in  chrono- 
logical order  as  far  as  possible  with  regard  to  the  ministry  of 
our  Lord,  we  will  build  thereon  our  estimate  of  values. 

The  first  reference  to  the  Spirit  in  the  ministry  of  our 
Lord  was  one  revealing  the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  the  King- 
dom of  God,  and  to  the  Master's  ministry  in  regard  to  that 
Kingdom.  This  is  not  the  first  reference  to  the  Spirit  in 
the  narratives,  but  the  first  in  Christ's  own  words;  and,  so 
far  as  the  records  preserve  the  words  to  us,  this  was  made 
in  His  conversation  with  Nicodemus.  During  His  first 
Judaean  ministry — a  ministry  of  which  we  have  no  record  in 
Matthew,  Mark,  or  Luke  ;  a  ministry  to  which  John  alone 
refers — while  He  was  still  in  Jerusalem,  Nicodemus  came  to 
Him,  a  seeker  after  truth,  an  honest  soul  to  whom  it  was 
possible  for  Him  to  speak  of  deeper  things.  We  are,  of 
course,  familiar  with  the  intimate  connection  between  the 
ending  of  the  second  chapter  and  the  beginning  of  the  third 
chapter  in  John's  Gospel.  The  last  statement  of  the  second 
chapter  is  this  :  "  Many  believed  on  His  name.  .  .  . 
But  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself  unto  them,  for  that  He  knew 
all  men  .  .  .  for  He  Himself  knew  what  was  in  man  "; ' 
and  the  next  chapter  commences,  "  Now  there  was  a  man 
of  the  Pharisees,  named  Nicodemus,"  ^  to  whom  He  did  com 
mit  His  heart,  and  to  whom  He  could  speak  as  to  a  man  of 
absolute  honesty  and  sincerity.  To  him,  therefore,  our  Lord 
declared  the  relation  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  heart  of  man  ;  and 
ultimately,  of  course,  in  the  world.  He  told  this  man,  to 
»  John  ii.  23, 24.  *  Ibid,^  iii.  l. 


The  Spirit  51 

his  utter  amazement,  that  no  man  could  enter  into  the 
Kingdom  save  by  a  new  birth,  a  new  beginning ;  not  by 
process  of  personal  reformation,  but  by  the  process  of  re- 
generation from  above.  In  that  great  declaration  He  made 
the  first  recorded  reference  to  the  Spirit  of  God.  Man 
must  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit ;  that  is,  a  man  must 
not  only  take  the  step  which  John  indicated  in  his  preach- 
ing of  repentance  ;  he  must  also  be  introduced  to  the  King- 
dom, to  see  it,  to  be  in  it,  by  the  regeneration  of  the  Spirit 
of  God. 

It  is  full  of  interest  that  in  that  first  recorded  reference  to 
the  Spirit  our  Lord  not  only  recognized,  but  definitely  de- 
clared, the  mystery  of  tne  theme.  "  The  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  voice  thereof,  but 
knowest  not  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth  :  so  is 
every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit  "  ; '  and  the  "  so  "  links 
the  man  who  hears  the  wind  to  the  man  who  is  born  of  the 
Spirit.  The  new-born  soul  is  related  to  the  Spirit  precisely 
as  a  man  is  related  to  the  wind  which  he  hears,  and  the  fact 
of  which  he  knows,  but  the  source  and  goal  of  which  are 
hidden  from  him.  He  knows  the  fact  though  he  cannot 
explain  the  mystery.  Thus  upon  the  very  threshold  of  His 
public  ministry,  so  far  from  giving  any  systematic  teaching 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  our  Lord  told  this 
seeking  soul,  and  men  for  all  time,  that  there  is  a  mystery 
not  revealed ;  but  that  there  are  facts  that  demonstrate  the 
profounder  fact  of  the  being  and  the  activity  of  the  Spirit  of 
God. 

Next  comes  a  group  of  references  showing  the  relation  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  to  personal  life.  Of  these  the  first  is  that 
to  which,  in  another  application,  reference  has  been  already 
made.  In  the  story  of  the  interview  with  Nicodemus  is  the 
v/ord  of  Jesus  concerning  the  Spirit,  which  shows  that  per- 
1  John  lii.  8, 


^2  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

soral  Christianity,  which  is  personal  realization  of  the  es 
tablishment   of  the    Kingdom  of  God,  is  the  result  of  the 
regeneration  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  next  in  order  of  time  occurred  just  after  He  had  left 
Jerusalem,  and  while  He  was  on  His  way  to  Galilee  to  com- 
mence the  ministry  recorded  by  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke. 
He  halted  at  Samaria ;  and  there,  under  a  figure  of  speech, 
He  made  His  next  reference  to  the  Spirit,  as  He  said  to  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  "  Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that 
I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall 
give  him  shall  become  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up 
unto  eternal  life."  '  That  this  statement  referred  to  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  Spirit  is  proved  by  the  next  reference,  where,  in 
interpretation  of  the  figure  of  the  running  rivers  of  water 
we  have  the  inspired  word  following,  "  this  spake  He  of  the 
Spirit."  2 

Thus,  under  a  figure  of  speech,  not  by  the  declaration  of 
a  doctrine,  but  by  the  suggestion  of  an  illustration,  our  Lord 
revealed  the  fact  that  when  a  man  is  by  the  Spirit  born,  the 
result  is  that  he  finds  perfect  satisfaction  ;  in  his  life  there  is 
no  longer  the  thirst  that  agonizes  for  something  never  found ; 
but  the  springing,  laughing,  living  water,  that  brings  him 
perpetual  satisfaction. 

We  find  the  record  of  the  next  reference  in  the  seventh 
chapter  of  John,  although  our  Lord  said  it  long  after  the 
Galilean  ministry,  in  the  second  Judaean  ministry,  and  when 
He  was  back  again  in  Jerusalem.  On  the  last  day  of  the 
feast,  when  the  priests  were  no  longer  carrying  the  water  in 
the  golden  vessels  and  pouring  it  forth  upon  the  ground, 
symbolizing  the  day  of  the  Spirit,  towards  the  dawning  of 
which  the  prophets  had  looked  ;  on  the  last  day  of  the  feast 
He  said,  "  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  Me,  and 
drink."  The  thought  is  identical  with  that  of  the  fourth 
'  John  iv.  14.  '  Ibid.,  vii.  39. 


The  Spirit  53 

thapter ;  but  He  went  further  now,  and  said,  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  Me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his  belly 
shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  *  Thus  speaking  of  the 
Spirit  He  declared  that  the  true  secret  of  influence  in  the 
world  is  that  of  the  indwelling  and  outflowing  Spirit  through 
the  life  of  man  ;  that  influence  in  the  world  is  to  be  created 
by  the  effluence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  from  the  life  of  the 
man  born  of  the  Spirit,  and  satisfied  with  the  Spirit. 

It  was  then,  after  the  visit  to  Jerusalem,  but  still  in  the 
second  Judaean  ministry,  while  on  tour,  that  He  uttered  the 
word,  which  Luke  alone  records,  in  relation  to  prayer :  "  If 
ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him  ?  "  ^ 

In  that  group  of  references  we  have  His  teaching  con- 
cerning the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  individual  and  personal 
life ;  that  man  needs  to  be  born  of  the  Spirit  in  order  to 
enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God  ;  that  being  born  of  the 
Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  God  becomes  in  such  a  man  a  well  of 
water  springing  up,  and  he  never  thirsts  ;  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  then  becomes  through  him  the  rushing  of  rivers  of 
water,  fertilizing  deserts,  and  satisfying  the  thirst  of  other 
people ;  and  finally  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  given  to  a  man 
who  asks  for  Him. 

In  the  next  place  we  have  a  group  of  references  showing 
the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  Christ's  own  work.  The  first 
is  a  word  which  He  spoke  in  the  midst  of  the  Galilean  min- 
istry. It  is  chronicled  by  iVlatthew.  He  was  arguing  with 
the  Pharisees.  They  had  said  that  He  cast  out  devils  by 
Beelzebub,  and  He  replied,  "  If  I  by  Beelzebub  cast  out 
devils,  by  whom  do  your  sons  cast  them  out  ?  therefore  shall 
they  be  your  judges.  But  if  I  by  the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out 
devils,  then  is  the  Kingdom  of  God  come  upon  you."  ^ 
»  John  vii.  37-38.  «  Luke  xi.  13.  «  Matt.  xii.  27,  2S 


54  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

In  that  word,  which  was  incidental,  it  is  perfectly  clear 
that  our  Lord  intended  to  declare  that  all  His  activity  in  the 
interests  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  in  the  exorcism  of  devils, 
was  activity  in  cooperation  with  the  Spirit. 

Then  in  that  great  soliloquy  of  Luke,  a  soliloquy  that 
broke  from  His  heart  in  the  midst  of  the  second  Judaean 
ministry.  He  declared  His  purpose  in  the  words  :  "  I  came 
to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth.'*  *  Li  the  light  of  other  Scrip- 
tures we  know  that  this  was  a  declaration  that  the  ultimate 
meaning  of  His  ministry  was,  in  some  way,  not  then  to  be 
disclosed  to  men,  not  then  to  be  explained,  for  men  could  not 
understand  ;  but  in  some  way  to  give  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
make  Him  available  to  all  men,  as, a  fire  for  purity,  as  afire 
for  energy;  but  He  declared  that  He  was  unable  to  fulfill 
that  greater  mission  until  He  Himself  had  passed  through 
the  passion-baptism  towards  which  His  face  was  set,  and 
without  which  His  work  could  never  be  completed. 

In  a  passing  allusion  He  declared  that  when  David  wrote 
his  psalm  long  ago,  he  wrote  in  the  Spirit ;  that  in  the  psalm, 
which  the  rulers  and  interpreters  of  the  age  were  unable  to 
explain,  the  psalm  in  which  David  spoke  of  Messiah  and 
"said,  "  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,"  ^  he  wrote  in  the 
Spirit.  To  whom  was  he  referring  ?  said  Jesus  ;  and  they 
replied.  To  Messiah,  to  Christ ;  and  His  question  to  them 
was,  "  David  himself  calleth  Him  Lord ;  and  whence  is  He 
his  Son  ?  "  It  was  His  challenging  question  to  these  men 
as  to  His  own  Person.  They  could  give  Him  no  answer. 
Thus  here  Christ  referred  to  the  action  of  the  Spirit  long  be- 
fore as  inspiring  the  prophetic  songs  that  set  forth  the  fact 
of  His  own  Person,  and  the  meaning  of  His  own  ministry. 

Going  back  now  to  the  Galilean  ministry,  we  find  that 
in  Galilee  He  first  uttered  those  words  of  solemn  warning 
in  which  He  declared  that  the  blasphemy  against  the  Holy 
*  Luke  xii.  49.  «  Mark  xii.  36,  37. 


The  Spirit  55 

Spirit  is  the  sin  that  has  no  forgiveness.  These  words  we 
can  never  read  without  an  almost  appalling  sense  of  awe 
possessing  the  soul.  Both  Matthew  and  Mark  record  that 
declaration  of  Christ  in  Galilee,  and  Luke  states  that  He  re- 
peated this  warning  in  the  course  of  the  second  Judaean  min- 
istry.' Thus  the  solemn  words, — whatever  their  import 
may  be, — concerning  the  Spirit  of  God,  belong  both  to  the 
early  Galilean  ministry,  and  to  the  later  Judaean  ministry  ; 
and  in  each  case  were  uttered  in  close  connection  with  that 
criticism  of  the  Pharisees  in  which  they  tried  to  account  for 
the  action  of  the  Lord  as  being  due  to  the  influence  of  devils. 
Our  Lord  did  not  say  that  these  men  had  committed  the  un- 
pardonable sin,  but  they  had  approached  very  near;  for  when 
a  man  says  of  such  a  Christ  that  He  works  by  the  power  of 
Satan,  he  is  coming  very  near  to  definite  and  final  rejection 
of  that  Christ ;  and  such  rejection  is  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  because  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  that  of  co- 
operating with  Christ  in  the  casting  out  of  devils,  in  the 
revelation  of  the  Father,  in  the  establishment  of  the  King- 
dom, by  the  remaking  and  the  perfecting  of  men.  And  if 
a  man  shall  resist  that  Christ,  and  refuse  Him,  that  is  the  one 
and  only  sin  that  has  no  forgiveness  ;  for,  as  Christ  said,  it  is 
eternal  sin,  the  age-abiding  sin,  the  sin  from  which  there  can 
be  no  escape  ;  the  sin  therefore  which  cannot  be  forgiven. 

Then  there  is  another  group  of  Scriptures,  showing  the 
relation  of  the  Spirit  to  the  work  of  the  disciples.  Three 
times  over,  once  in  the'Galilean  ministry,  and  finally  in  the 
last  visit  to  Jerusalem  itself,  our  Lord  said  practically  the 
same  thing  to  His  disciples.  He  told  them  that  in  the  day 
of  persecution,  when  they  should  be  arraigned  and  im- 
prisoned and  beaten  and  buffeted  even  to  death,  they  were 
never  to  be  anxious  about  their  defense  ;  for,  said  He,  the 
Spirit  of  your  Father  withm  you  shall  speak,  the  Spirit  of 
»  Matt.  xii.  31,  32.     Mark  iii.  29.     Luke  xii.  10-12. 


56  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

God  will  teach  you  what  to  say,  the  Spirit  of  God  will  speak 
through  you/ 

Then  we  have  a  group  of  references  after  the  resurrec- 
tion. In  every  phase  of  His  great  commission  to  His  dis- 
ciples there  was  some  reference  to  the  Spirit.  Mark,  Luke, 
and  John  tell  the  story  of  the  events  of  the  first  day  of  resur- 
rection in  the  upper  room.  The  commission  recorded  by 
Matthew  was  uttered  in  Galilee  long  after,  at  a  private 
gathering  of  the  risen  Lord  with  the  saints.  Each  teaches 
us  some  phase  of  the  commission.  Mark  recorded  His 
words  :  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  "  ;  ^ 
and  the  baptism  is  of  course  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  and 
not  of  water.  Water  baptism  is  the  sign  and  symbol  of  the 
spiritual  fact ;  but  the  regenerating  baptism  is  that  of  the 
Spirit.  John  wrote  of  that  anticipative  breathing  when  our 
Lord  said,  "  Receive  ye  the  Spirit,'*  ^  in  order  to  the  ministry 
which  shall  bring  the  forgiveness  of  sins  to  men.  It  was 
a  prophetic  breathing  ;  they  did  not  receive  the  Spirit  of  God 
then,  for  Luke  tells  how,  immediately  following,  our  Lord 
told  them  to  tarry  until  the  Spirit  came  ;  and  in  the  final  word 
in  Luke  we  find  the  promise  of  the  coming  of  the  Spirit.^ 

Then  in  Matthew's  account  of  the  appointed  meeting  in 
Galilee  we  have  our  Lord's  reference  to  the  Spirit  in  the 
great  commission,  when  He  said,  "  Baptizing  them  into  the 
name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  ;  * 
thus  by  reference  to  the  Spirit  indicating  the  union  of  the 
Spirit  with  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

Once  again,  forty  days  after  resurrection,  two  other  refer- 
ences to  the  Spirit  are  found  in  Acts,^  showing  the  relation 
of  the  disciples  to  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  to  the  disciples 
for  work.     He   promised    the   baptism   of  the   Spirit  "  not 

^  Matt.  X.  20.     Mark  xiii.  II.     Luke  xii.  12.  *  Luke  xxiv,  49. 

'  Mark  xvi.  16.  '^  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 

*  John  XX.  22.  «  Acts  i.  5,  8. 


The  Spirit  57 

many  days  hence  "  ;  and  then  declared  that  the  coming  of 
the  Spirit  to  them  would  bring  them  power  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  His  work. 

Thus  we  have  seen,  by  the  grouping  of  these  references 
of  Christ  under  different  headings,  that  our  Lord  revealed 
the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  the  relation 
of  the  Spirit  to  the  personal  life  of  the  individual,  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Spirit  to  His  own  work,  and  the  relation  of  the 
Spirit  to  the  work  of  His  disciples  immediately,  and  to  the 
end  of  the  present  dispensation. 

Looking  back  over  these  passages  of  Scripture  it  is  again 
evident  that  there  was  no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Lord 
at  systematic  teaching.  That  in  itself  is  a  matter  of  su- 
preme importance.  It  is  a  dangerous  thing  in  doctrinal 
teaching  to  argue  from  silence.  Yet  ihere  is  a  value  in  ob- 
serving the  things  about  which  Christ  said  practically  noth- 
ing. When  we  find  Him  silent  on  some  great  matter  we 
may  be  content  to  be  silent  on  that  subject  too.  We  are 
always  m  danger  of  losing  the  supreme  value  of  this  whole 
fact  of  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit  when  we  are  eager 
and  anxious  to  state  systematically,  or  even  theologically, 
all  the  facts  concerning  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  relation 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  the  Trinity  ;  topics  on  which  no 
final  word  can  be  said.  And  it  is  infinitely  better  that  we 
should  ever  abide  in  this  matter  where  Christ  left  the  sub- 
ject, for  on  the  subject  of  the  nature  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
He  made  no  advance  upon  that  first  mystic,  suggestive,  and 
beautiful  word  spoken  to  Nicodemus  :  "  The  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  voice  thereof,  but 
knowest  not  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth."  * 
The  fact  we  know,  but  all  the  mystery  of  it  we  do  not 
know,  nor  can  we  !  But  knowing  the  fact,  we  postpone, 
at  least  for  the  present,  the  attempt  to  understand  the  mys- 
*  John  iii.  8. 


58  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

tery,  and  obeying  the  fact  we  find  the  great  force  serving 
our  purpose,  and  accomplishing  our  end.  Is  that  not  the 
law  of  the  wind  ?  Dr.  Jowett,  when  he  wanted  to  preach 
upon  this  very  passage,  went  down  to  Tynemouth,  and  sat 
by  an  old  sailor,  a  real  sailor^  a,  man  who  had  spent  many 
years  upon  a  sailing  vessel  ;  and  said  to  him, "  Do  you 
know  anything  about  the  wind  ?  "  "Yes,  sir,  I  know  a 
lot  about  the  wind."  "  Well,  will  you  explain  to  me  the 
phenomenon  of  the  wind  r  ** .  "I  don't  know  what  you 
mean,  sir."  "  Well,  how  do  you  explain  the  wind  :  what 
do  you  know  about  it  ?  '*  "  No,  sir,  I  don't  know  any- 
thing about  the  wind ;  but  I  know  the  wind,  and  I  car 
hoist  a  sail !  "  That  is  the  whole  philosophy  of  this  teach- 
ing. "The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hear- 
est  the  voice  thereof" — we  know  the  fact;  "but  knowest 
not  whence  it  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth  " — that  is  the 
mystery  ;  but  knowing  the  fact  we  hoist  the  sail,  and  the 
fact  becomes  the  force  that  drives  our  vessel  across  the  lake, 
though  when  we  get  to  the  other  side  we  know  no  more 
about  the  mystery  of  it  than  we  did  when  we  started  ;  but 
our  vessel  has  been  carried  over ;  "  so  is  every  one  that  is 
born  of  the  Spirit."  The  man  born  of  the  Spirit  comes  to 
recognition  of  the  blowing  of  the  wind,  a  voice  in  the  soul, 
a  vision  before  the  eye,  a  new  touch  of  power  upon  the 
life  ;  and,  in  effect,  he  says.  Whence,  I  cannot  tell ;  whither, 
I  know  not;  what,  I  cannot  discover;  but  I  will  hoist  the 
sail ;  I  will  act  upon  the  impulse  suggested ;  and  imme- 
diately the  force  of  the  Spirit  enters  into  the  life,  and  pres- 
ently he  arrives  at  the  desired  haven,  because  recognizing 
the  mystery,  and  knowing  the  fact,  he  has  been  obedient  to 
the  law  of  the  fact,  and  the  fact  has  been  a  force  coopera- 
tive with  his  life.  To  my  own  mind,  that  great  silence  o'. 
Jesus,  that  recognition  of  mystery,  is  in  itself  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  things  in  all  His  teaching  concerning  the  Spirit. 


The  Spirit  59 

Yet  let  us  gather  these  three  <lefinite  values  from  this 
collection  of  passages  :  the  assumption  of  the  Being  of  the 
Spirit ;  the  suggestion  of  the  nature  of  the  Spirit ;  and  the 
revelation  of  relationship. 

What  is  this  assumption  of  Being  ?  Jesus  assumed  the 
Being  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  terms  of  His  references 
preclude  our  imagining  that  He  thought  only  of  an  influ- 
ence. Listen  to  His  terms  :  "  The  Spirit  of  your  Father."  » 
That  may  leave  us  a  little  in  doubt.  Listen  again  :  "  The 
Spirit  of  God  "  ;  ^  and  even  there  we  may  imagine  that  there 
is  nothing  very  definite.  But  listen  again  :  "  The  Spirit  ";^ 
and  that  word  was  used  m  such  connection  as  to  leave  no 
possibility  of  doubt  that  He  was  thinking  of  a  Person  ;  He 
was  thinking  of  intelligence,  of  emotion,  and  of  volition, 
and  therefore  of  the  sum  and  substance  of  these  things, 
which  is  personality.  His  references  to  the  Spirit  were 
references  always  to  activities ;  the  regenerative  activity,  by 
which  a  man  is  born  from  above;  the  gift  of  speech,  by 
which  men  take  no  trouble  to  make  a  defense,  but  have 
words  to  speak  given  them  at  the  moment ;  the  activity  of 
exorcism,  whereby  through  the  word  of  Christ  the  devil  is 
compelled  to  leave  a  man,  and  the  man  is  healed,  and  that 
for  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Christ 
spoke  of  the  Spirit  by  such  terms  as  recognized  His  Being 
as  a  Person,  and  as  One  active  in  the  universe  of  God. 

These  references  of  Christ  also  suggest  the  nature  of  the 
Spirit.  He  spoke  of  "  The  Spirit,"  and  that  suggests  the 
nature.  Does  it  also  present  a  difficulty  ?  Can  any  one 
define  Spirit  ?  Let  us  simply  say  as  we  did  in  considering 
our  Lord's  declaration  that  God  is  Spirit ;  that  Spirit  is 
freedom  from  the  limitations  of  space  and  time.  That  is  at 
least  a  hint  as  to  nature. 

But  He  also  spoke  of  "  The  Spirit  of  God  "  ;  and  in  our 
»  Matt.  X.  20.  >  Ibid.,  xii.  28.  «  Ibid.^  31  > 


6o  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Lord's  use  of  the  word  "  God,"  is  the  thought  of  might,  oi 
majesty,  of  absolute  supremacy,  and  final  sovereignty  ;  and 
when  He  said  "  The  Spirit  of  God,*'  it  is  evident  that  He 
thought  of  the  Spirit  as  related  to  these  attributes.  That 
again  is  a  gleam  of  light  upon  the  nature  of  the  Spirit. 

Fut  once  again  He  spoke  of  "  the  Spirit  of  your  Father." 
In  our  study  on  the  teaching  of  Christ  concerning  God, 
we  pointed  out  that  He  only  used  two  names  of  God  defi- 
nitely i  one  God^  and  the  other  Father  ;  and  hence  the  mean- 
ing and  value  of  the  Pauline  and  Petrine  expression,  "The 
God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Now  notice 
that  in  reference  to  the  Spirit  He  used  the  same  two  words 
in  order  to  give  us  an  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  Spirit:  the 
"  Spirit  of  God,"  and  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Father."  So  that 
everything  we  think  of,  when  we  think  of  God  as  God,  we 
may  bring  over  into  our  thinking  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
Spirit  :  all  the  ability  to  sustain,  all  the  tender  solicitude  for 
welfare,  all  thought  of  love  and  passion  and  strength  which  we 
conceive  as  in  God,  we  may  think  of  as  in  the  Spirit  of  God. 

However,  our  Lord's  favourite  designation,  if  we  may 
judge  by  the  number  of  times  He  made  use  of  it,  was  "  The 
Holy  Spirit."  He  clearly  thought  of  the  Spirit  as  holy  in 
nature  j  the  Spirit  of  purity  and  of  right,  the  Holy  Spirit. 

These  references  do  not  constitute  systematic  teaching; 
they  only  afford  suggestions,  but  they  are  suggestions 
which,  when  gathered  together,  and  allowed  to  create  an 
impression  upon  the  mind,  bring  us  very  near  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  nature  of  the  Spirit.  "  The  Spirit  of  God  "  ; 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Father  "  ;  "  The  Holy  Spirit." 

And  finally,  these  references  are  a  revelation  of  relations. 
They  show  that  the  Spirit  is  one  with  God,  in  His  Being, 
and  in  His  activity  ;  for  they  indicate  that  Christ  regardec^ 
the  Spirit  as  working  with  God  and  for  Him;  and  that  Hr 
Himself  wrought  in  the  power  of  the  Spinr, 


The  Spirit  61 

These  references  by  our  Lord  also  show  that  He  thought 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  as  the  One  Who  gives  life  to  men,  new 
life  to  men,  enablmg  them  to  see  the  vision  of  His  glory,  com- 
municating to  them  the  virtue  whereby  they  will  be  able  to 
win  the  victory,  themselves  submitted  to  the  King,  becoming 
workers  with  the  King  for  the  bringing  in  of  His  Kingdom. 

If  tempted  to  say  that  all  this  leaves  the  matter  very  much 
in  the  realm  of  mystery,  remember  that  we  have  only  been 
considering  the  more  public  and  incidental  references  of  our 
Lord  to  the  Spirit. 

We  now  turn  to  the  special  teaching  of  the  Lord  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Spirit,  given  to  His  disciples.  It  is  nec- 
essary that  we  should  recognize  that  it  was  special  teaching, 
and  that  in  at  least  three  ways ;  as  to  those  to  whom  it  was 
given,  as  to  the  time  at  which  it  was  given,  and  as  to  the 
scope  of  the  teaching  itself. 

All  the  words  of  the  Paschal  discourses  were  spoken  to 
the  disciples  only ;  and  it  is  a  most  significant  fact  that,  ac* 
cording  to  this  record,  they  contain  no  word  concerning  the 
coming  or  ministry  of  the  Spirit  until  Judas  was  excluded  from 
the  company.  In  the  early  portion  of  the  Paschal  celebration 
he  was  present.  He  was  even  there  when  our  Lord  washed 
the  disciples'  feet;  but  ere  a  word  passed  the  lips  of  Christ 
concerning  the  mission  of  the  Spirit,  he  had  been  excluded. 

The  teaching  was  special  also  as  to  the  time  at  which  it 
was  given ;  these  words  are  among  the  very  last  things  He  said. 
The  shadow  of  the  Cross  was  most  evidently  over  the  feast. 
The  disciples  were  strangely  perplexed  and  perturbed,  utterly 
unable  to  understand  their  Master.  This  indeed  had  been  so 
from  that  hour  when  at  Caesarea  Philippi  He  had  first  spoken 
to  them  of  the  Cross.  Restlessness  was  rife  so  far  as  they 
were  concerned.      He  alone  was  quiet,  calm,  and  dignified. 

Finally,  the  teaching  was  special  in  its  scope.  It  was 
specific  teaching  on  the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  relation  to  His 


62  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

own  disciples.  These  special  words,  spoken  to  the  inner 
circle,  are  as  devoid  of  systematic  teaching  concerning  the 
existence  and  nature  of  the  Spirit  as  were  the  incidental 
references  during  the  public  ministry.  Over  the  whole  of 
these  instructions,  also,  we  may  write  that  word  "  The  wind 
bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  voice  thereof, 
but  knowest  not  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth  ; 
<^xi  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  * 

Observe  also  that  this  teaching  was  intermixed  with  other 
matters,  and  closely  related  thereto.  These  Paschal  dis- 
courses contain  four  distinct  paragraphs  on  the  coming  and 
work  of  the  Spirit  i  and  it  will  be  helpful  to  notice  at  once 
the  setting  of  these  references.  During  the  observance  of 
the  Paschal  feast  our  Lord  had  risen,  and  had  washed  the 
feet  of  the  disciples,  instructing  them  on  the  duty  of  love 
expressed  in  service.  After  that  Judas  was  excluded,  and 
the  Lord  spoke  more  particularly  on  the  subject  of  His  ap- 
proaching departure.  As  He  did  so  He  was  interrupted; 
first  by  the  troubled  question  of  Peter,  "  Whither  goest 
Thou?";^  next  by  the  protesting  enquiry  of  Thomas, 
"Lord,  we  know  not  whither  Thou  goest;  how  know  we 
the  way  f  **  ;^  then  by  the  great  cry  of  Philip,  "  Show  us 
the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us."  ^  In  the  course  of  His  an- 
swer to  Philip,  for  the  first  time  He  promised  the  Paraclete.' 

Continuing  His  discourse.  He  spoke  of  the  relation  of 
obedience  to  love,  told  them  how  the  expression  of  love  to 
Him  was  that  of  loyalty  ;  and  in  conclusion  He  again  spoke 
of  the  ministry  of  the  Paraclete,  and  immediately  gave  them 
His  word  of  peace.^ 

Then  leaving  the  upper  room  in  the  midst  of  the  dis- 
courses, it  is  not  certain  where  they  went.  Some  believe 
that  the  words  concerning  the  vine  were  spoken  as  they 

»  John  iii.  8.  ^  /did.,  xiv.  5.  «  Jdid.,  16-17. 

« /6ic^.,  xiii.  36.  *  /did.,  8.  « Idu/.,  26-27. 


The  Spirit  63 

walked  over  the  brook  Kidron  towards  Gethsemane.  Others 
believe  that  they  u^ent  specially  to  the  Temple,  and  that  in 
the  silence  of  the  night  these  words  were  uttered  in  the 
presence  of  that  golden  vine  which  was  one  of  the  glories 
of  the  Temple.  Of  these  things  we  are  not  sure ;  but  it  is 
perfectly  certain  that  under  the  figure  of  the  vine  He  spoke 
to  them  of  the  new  relationship  which  presently  would 
exist  between  them  and  Himself;  and  emphasized  the  pos- 
sibility of  service  under  the  figure  of  fruit-bearing ;  and  in 
this  connection  He  again  spoke  of  the  Paraclete.' 

He  then  told  them  of  trials  and  persecutions  awaiting 
them,  and  in  that  connection  uttered  His  final  word  about  the 
Paraclete;^  and  then  completed  His  discourse, and  uttered  the 
great  intercessory  prayer.  Thus  He  dealt  with  their  need 
in  the  days  so  rapidly  approaching,  when  He,  as  to  bodily 
presence,  should  no  longer  be  with  them.  He  recognized  their 
loneliness;  their  duty  to  Him  ;  their  coming  responsibilities 
in  service;  the  suffering  and  persecution  that  such  service  and 
such  life  would  bring ;  and  He  linked  each  of  these  things 
with  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Their  loneliness  was 
to  be  cancelled  by  the  coming  of  the  Paraclete.  Their  duty 
to  Him  was  to  be  made  possible  of  fulfillment  by  the  presence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Their  fruitfulness  in  service  was  to  be 
ensured  by  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit.  Their  suffering  was  to 
be  endured  in  the  strength  of  their  fellowship  with  that  Spirit* 

There  are  three  things  to  note  in  a  survey  of  this  teach- 
ing :  first,  to  observe  the  meaning  of  our  Lord's  references 
to  the  Spirit ;  secondly,  to  attend  to  His  special  teaching 
concerning  the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  His  own  disciples ; 
and  finally,  to  make  a  deduction  of  values  for  our  help. 

In   these   discourses   our  Lord  referred  to  the  Spirit  in 
three  ways.     He  spoke  of  Him  as  the  "  Comforter,"  as 
•'  the  Spirit  of  truth,"  and  as  "  the  Holy  Spirit." 
1  John  XV.  26-27.  «  Ibid.f  xvi.  7-14. 


64  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Instead  of  "  Comforter  '*  let  us  employ  the  anglicized 
form  of  the  Greek  word,  Paraclete.  He  used  that  term  in 
each  one  of  these  declarations,  and  it  is  remarkable  that 
these  are  the  only  occasions  where  the  word  is  used  in  the 
New  Testament,  except  once  when,  in  the  first  letter  of 
John,  it  is  used  of  Christ  Himself. 

The  word  in  itself  is  an  inclusive  and  final  revelation  of 
all  the  truth  He  desired  to  teach  them  as  to  the  relation  of 
the  Spirit  to  their  lives  and  ministry,  when  as  to  bodily 
presence  He  would  be  unseen. 

The  word  Paraclete  simply  means.  One  called  to  the 
side  of.  That  opens  the  way  for  an  understanding  of  the 
suggestiveness  of  the  word.  It  is  a  word  quite  common  in 
all  Greek  literature,  but  to  be  found  in  the  Greek  version 
of  the  Old  Testament.  In  Greek  literature  its  sense  is 
always  that  of  an  advocate,  that  is,  one  who  takes  up  the 
cause  of  another,  and  defends  it. 

Whence  then  came  our  word  "  Comforter "  ?  It  has 
been  suggested  that  the  word  "Comforter"  is  used  in  its 
true,  old  sense  of  One  Who  strengthens.  That  is  rather 
an  apology  for,  than  an  explanation  of,  the  employment  of 
the  word.  Undoubtedly  to  use  it  in  that  sense  would  be 
absolutely  accurate.  But  we  owe  the  presence  of  the  word 
"Comforter"  to  the  Greek  Church,  which  insisted  upon  it 
that  the  great  sense  of  value  in  our  Lord's  use  of  the  word 
was  not  so  much  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  to  come  as  an 
Advocate,  as  that  He  was  to  come  to  console,  and  in  that 
sense  to  comfort  the  souls  of  the  disciples. 

Now  it  is  of  great  importance  that  we  should  admit  the 
element  of  truth  in  that  statement,  and  yet  let  us  see  what 
this  really  means.  The  first  time  our  Lord  used  the  word 
He  coupled  with  it  a  very  simple  word,  one  of  those  words 
we  are  very  apt  to  hurry  over  when  we  are  reading,  but 
which  gives  a  key  to  the  situation.     He  said,  "  I  will  prav 


The  Spirit  65 

the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  " — not  a  Comforter,  but 
"  another  Comforter."  *  And  if,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in 
exposition  of  this  kind,  it  seems  as  though  we  were  laying 
undue  stress  upon  an  unimportant  word,  yet  ponder  it  care- 
fully. The  word  "  another  *'  here  is  of  a  particular  nature 
and  character.  It  is  allos^  not  heteros ;  and  consequently  the 
word  another  does  not  indicate  a  different  quality,  but  a  simi- 
larity of  quality,  and  a  distinction  of  Person.  The  value  of 
the  use  of  the  word  "  another  "  is  that  it  presupposes  a  previ- 
ous Comforter;  and  thus  in  His  use  of  the  word  Paraclete, 
our  Lord  suggested  that  His  own  work  in  the  case  of  these 
men  might  be  designated  by  that  term.  He  had  been  the 
Paraclete.  He  had  been  the  One  summoned  to  their  side. 
He  had  been  with  them  ;  they  had  been  with  Himj  in  fellow- 
ship with  Him  they  had  seen  more  deeply  into  the  things  of 
God,  they  had  heard  the  voices  with  which  they  had  been 
unfamiliar  until  He  came  and  spoke  to  them ;  in  His  pres- 
ence they  had  known  courage  and  strength ;  with  Him  they 
had  felt  that  they  could  dare  everything ;  but  their  trouble 
was  that  He  was  going.  Under  these  circumstances  He 
said,  I  will  send  you  another  Paraclete  ;  Another  to  stand  by 
your  side.  Another  to  take  exactly  the  same  place  that  I  have 
filled  in  your  lives  during  these  past  three  years,  Another  to 
be  the  Advocate  of  God  with  you.  I  think  if  we  compare 
the  way  in  which  Jesus  used  the  word  Paraclete  with  John's 
use  of  it  in  his  letter,  we  may  be  helped  to  an  understanding 
of  its  value.  Said  John,  "  We  have  an  Advocate  with  the 
Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous."  ^  The  risen  Christ 
stands  as  our  Advocate  with  God  in  the  high  places  of  the 
heavens;  and  the  Spirit  dwells  with  us  as  His  Advocate,  in 
the  life  and  service  of  the  earth.  As  Christ  pleads  the  cause 
of  man  in  heaven,  so  the  Spirit  pleads  the  cause  of  God  on 
earth.     He  is  the  Advocate. 

1  John  xiv.  16.  '  I  John  ii.  I. 


66  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

It  has  been  objected  that  our  word  "Comforter"  has 
absolutely  no  place  in  the  thought  of  the  word  Paraclete, 
I  differ  from  that  v'ew  entirely.  If  the  thought  be  that  of 
an  advocate,  as  one  who  pleads  a  cause,  there  is  involved  in 
that  idea  the  very  essence  of  comfort.  My  advocate,  m  that 
sense,  is  the  man  who  has  knowledge  superior  to  mine;  all 
of  which  he  places  at  my  disposal,  so  that  I  can  repose  in 
the  things  he  knows,  and  remit  to  him  all  the  questions  that 
would  be  of  difficulty  to  me.  There  is  in  this  fact  all  com- 
fort to  me,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  has  this  as  His  office;  all 
His  knowledge  of  God  is  at  my  disposal,  all  the  will  of  God 
He  will  reveal  to  me,  all  the  way  of  God  He  will  manifest 
to  me.     That  is  comfort  indeed. 

Another  descriptive  phrase  of  which  the  Lord  made  use 
was,  "  the  Spirit  of  truth.'*  Truth  is  the  source  from  which 
the  Spirit  comes  to  fulfill  His  ministry  ;  truth  is  the  charac- 
teristic of  the  Spirit  Himself;  truth  is  the  effort  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  life  of  the  believer;  truth  is  the  result  produced, 
wherever  the  soul  yields  to  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit.  The 
phrase,  of  truths  suggests  truth  in  its  simplicity  and  its  finality. 
Bengel  wrote  most  impressively  about  it  when  he  declared 
that  truth  is  the  only  fact  that  cannot  be  falsified.  There 
may  be  false  knowledge,  false  hope,  false  faith,  false  love, 
Sut  never  false  truth.  Thus  the  description,  "  the  Spirit  of 
ruth,'*  is  the  simple  and  final  word,  revealing  the  deepest 
''act  of  the  character  of  the  Spirit. 

He  made  use  of  another  phrase,  "  the  Holy  Spirit,"  re- 
vealing the  character  of  the  Spirit,  revealing  therefore  the 
nature  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  in  the  life  of  the  soul, 
revealing  also  the  character  of  the  energy  which  the  Spirit 
will  communicate.  The  word  holy  in  itself  suggests  awful- 
ness  or  distance  ;  and  in  its  use,  an  awe-inspiring  purity. 

By  these  terms,  without  any  attempt  at  doctrinal  state- 
ment or  systematic  teaching  concerning  the  nature  of  the 


The  Spirit  67 

Spirit,  the  Lord  revealed  at  once  the  new  relation  of  the 
Spirit  to  believing  souls  ;  and  the  character  of  the  Spirit 
Who  was  coming  into  such  new  relationship. 

We  turn  to  the  special  teaching  of  our  Lord;  and  notice 
two  things,  first,  that  He  made  a  definite  promise  that  the 
Spirit  was  to  come ;  and  secondly,  that  He  revealed  the 
purpose  of  the  coming. 

He  promised  an  advent  of  the  Spirit.  Every  paragraph 
refers  to  this.  The  Spirit  was  to  be  given,  the  Spirit  was  to 
be  sent,  the  Spirit  was  to  come.  This  use  of  terms  is  very 
difficult  to  explain.  Although  we  believe  in  the  immanence 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  all  life,  and  that  there  is  a  sense  in 
which  those  terms  that  indicate  space,  and  time,  cannot  be 
used  of  essential  Deity,  we  are  at  once  confronted  by  them 
through  all  this  teaching  of  Jesus,  in  which  He  spoke  of  the 
Spirit  as  being  given,  as  being  sent,  and  as  coming.  They  are 
figures  of  speech,  and  our  Lord  was  referring  to  the  fact  that 
after  His  departure  there  would  be  a  new  method  adopted  in 
the  economy  of  God  on  the  part  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  Holy  Spirit  had  not  been  unknown  in  human  history 
prior  to  the  coming  of  Christ.  Men  had  been  taught  that 
the  Spirit  had  been  specially  associated  with  the  cosmos  from 
that  hour  of  restoration  which  the  first  page  of  Genesis  re- 
cords. The  restoration  of  a  lost  order  was  accomplished  by 
the  brooding  of  the  Spirit  over  the  abyss.  In  the  Old 
Testament  men  spoke  of  the  Spirit,  and  a  ministry  of  the 
Spirit  was  constantly  referred  to.  Yet  Christ  now  definitely 
said  to  His  disciples  that  there  was  to  be  a  coming,  a  send- 
ing, a  giving.  All  of  which  indicated  the  fact  that  there 
was  to  be  a  new  method  of  spiritual  ministry,  resulting  from 
His  presence  and  His  work,  and  contributory  to  the  carry- 
ing on  of  the  consciousness  of  that  presence,  and  the  con- 
tinuity of  that  work. 

He  first  declarefJ  that  the  Spirit  should  be  given  by  the 


68  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Father,  and  the  word  given  there  does  not  mean  sent,  but 
assigned;  given  by  the  Father  to  His  disciples  in  answer  to 
His  own  prayer.  "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall 
assign  the  Spirit  to  you,  that  He  may  be  with  you  forever."  * 
Here  is  the  suggestion  of  a  difference  from  anything  that 
had  been  revealed  in  the  economy  of  the  Old  Testament. 
There  we  read  of  the  Spirit  clothing  Himself  with  a  man, 
clothing  a  man  with  Himself;  coming  to  inspire  men  for 
special  work,  the  singing  of  a  song,  the  weaving  of  a  fabric, 
the  working  in  gold  for  the  perfecting  of  the  Tabernacle. 
The  suggestion  throughout  is  of  special  wisdom  and  illu- 
m;.iation  and  power  for  special  occasions.  But  now,  said 
Christ,  My  Father,  in  answer  to  My  asking,  will  give  you 
the  Spirit  to  abide  with  you  forever ;  that  is  a  new  method 
of  the  Spirit,  the  perpetual  superseding  the  occasional ;  the 
Spirit  no  longer  to  be,  in  the  case  of  His  disciples.  One 
Who  came  with  a  flash  and  a  light,  a  vision  and  a  glory,  but 
One  Who  remained  in  close,  personal,  perpetual  relationship. 
Then  our  Lord  said  that  He  should  be  sent  by  the  Father 
in  the  name  of  the  Son ;  a  little  later  He  said  He  should  be 
sent  by  the  Son  from  the  Father;  and  later  still  He  declared 
that  He  should  be  sent  by  the  Son ;  and  the  last  reference  to 
the  new  advent  of  the  Spirit  is  one  that  speaks  of  the  Spirit 
as  neither  given  nor  sent,  but  coming  of  Himself.  These 
statements  seem  to  be  almost  mutually  destructive.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  these  very  terms  about  an  advent  of  the  Spirit, 
or  a  new  method  of  the  Spirit  in  the  history  of  men,  involve 
a  sense  of  sacred  and  mystic  relationships,  which  we  can 
never  finally  explain  or  understand  ;  given  by  the  Father; 
sent  by  the  Father  ;  sent  by  the  Son  from  the  Father ;  sent 
by  the  Son  without  reference  to  the  Father  ;  coming  of  Him- 
self. But  whatever  the  mystery  of  the  method,  the  fact  is 
patent  that  our  Lord  declared  to  this  group  of  men  in  thes^ 
^  John  xiv.  1 6. 


The  Spirit  69 

Paschal  discourses  that  they  were  approaching  a  new  era  oi 
spiritual  power,  and  spiritual  relationship,  in  which  the  Spirit 
of  God  should  no  longer  make  Himself  known  as  a  Visitor, 
upon  occasion,  for  a  purpose  j  but  that  He  should  be  a  per- 
petual Presence,  a  perpetual  Power  in  the  life  of  believers. 

He  was  perfectly  clear,  all  through  these  discourses,  as  to 
the  special  purpose  of  this  new  method  and  manifestation. 
The  purpose  of  the  Spirit's  advent  as  regards  the  Son  would 
be  first  to  make  His  Presence  known.  This  is  taught  in  the 
first  paragraph.  I  am  going  away,  your  hearts  are  filled  with 
sorrow,  I  will  not  leave  you  desolate,  I  will  not  leave  you 
orphans,  I  will  not  leave  you  lonely.  In  the  first  paragraph 
there  is  a  strange  merging  of  two  ideas,  I  will  send  another 
Paraclete.  ...  I  will  come  to  you  ;  so  that  the  An- 
other would  not  be  Another  in  the  consciousness  of  the  dis- 
ciples ;  but  Another  Who  would  make  them  conscious  of 
the  fact  of  the  presence  of  Christ. 

The  teaching  of  the  second  paragraph  in  this  application 
is  that  the  Spirit  would  bring  to  their  remembrance  His  past 
teaching. 

The  third  paragraph  teaches  that  He  would  bear  witness 
of  Him,  that  is,  explain  Him.  That  declaration  is  put  into 
close  connection  with  the  fact  that  the  world  had  hated  Him, 
but  the  Spirit  would  bear  witness  of  Him,  and  reveal  the 
truth  concerning  Him,  in  the  presence  of  the  world's  hatred. 

The  teaching  of  the  fourth  paragraph  is  that  the  Spirit 
would  make  Him  the  centre  of  the  world's  religious  con- 
sciousness, convicting  men  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  of  judg- 
ment, alJ  in  relation  to  Himself:  "  Of  sin,  because  they  be- 
lieve not  on  Me  j  of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  the  Father 
. ;  of  judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this  world  hath 
been  judged."  Finally  the  Lord  declared  that  the  Spirit 
would  come  to  glorify  Him  in  His  own  disciples. 

The  purposes  of  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  as  to  the  dis- 


70  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

ciples  we  have  already  seen  incidentally.  Let  us  now  state 
them  definitely.  He  came  first  to  disannul  orphanhood,  to 
take  away  the  sense  of  loneliness,  to  make  desolateness  im- 
possible; and  all  this  entirely  and  only  by  creating  the  con- 
sciousness of  Christ.  A  great  many  people  are  making  the 
supreme  mistake  of  expecting  a  consciousness  of  the  Spirit ; 
yet  that  which  the  Spirit  creates  is  not  a  consciousness  of 
Himself,  but  a  consciousness  of  Christ.  Upon  this  the 
Lord  was  most  explicit  from  beginning  to  end  ;  the  Spirit 
shall  not  speak  of  Himself,  or  concerning  Himself;  so  that 
the  test  of  the  measure  of  our  fellowship  with  the  Spirit  is 
not  our  knowledge  of  the  Spirit,  but  our  knowledge  of  tht- 
Christ  Whom  the  Spirit  reveals.  He  came  secondly  to  re- 
call to  the  disciples  the  words  of  past  commandments  ; 
thirdly  to  cooperate  with  them  in  their  witness  to  Christ, 
and  finally  to  guide  them  into  all  the  truth. 

The  purpose  of  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  as  to  the  world 
was  that  of  conviction,  that  is,  interpretation,  discerning 
judgment,  illumination  on  the  great  cardinal  matters  of 
religious  experience.  Wherever  there  is  a  true  religious  ex- 
perience in  the  history  of  a  man,  these  are  the  cardinal  mat- 
ters :  sin,  righteousness,  judgment;  sin  as  a  fact,  however  it 
may  be  explained ;  righteousness  as  a  great  ideal,  however 
unattainable  it  may  be  ;  judgment  as  a  terrific  necessity,  how- 
ever much  it  may  be  denied.  The  ministry  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  world  is  to  put  Christ  at  the  centre  of  all  these  cardinal 
matters  of  which  the  world  becomes  conscious  when  it 
comes  to  religious  awakening  of  any  kind.  Sin  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  presented  Christ  becomes  refusal  to  believe  in 
Him  :  righteousness  is  demonstrated  as  possible  to  men  be- 
cause of  the  triumph  of  the  Christ ;  and  judgment  is  revealed 
as  already  accomplished  by  the  Christ  in  His  conflict  with 
evil.  The  Spirit  was  to  come  to  make  these  things  real  in 
the  consciousness  of  the  world- 


The  Spirit  7> 

The  Spirit  can  only  fulfill  this  ministry  as  the  Church 
is  in  true  fellowship  with  Him.  That  also  is  another  value 
of  this  whole  teaching  ;  but  taking  for  granted  that  the 
Church  is  at  the  disposal  of  her  Lord  to  carry  the  message, 
and  to  deliver  it,  then  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  that 
Christ  is  demonstrated,  and  conviction  comes  to  the  mind 
of  the  world. 

Our  deduction  of  values  may  be  briefly  stated.  The  first 
is  that  of  a  new  sense  of  the  mystery  of  the  whole  subject. 
And  after  a  careful  study  of  these  passages,  that  which  ar- 
rests our  attention  is  the  strange  and  mystic  sense  of  trinity 
in  unity.  Does  the  mathematician  affirm  that  this  is  a  con- 
tradiction of  terms  ?  He  is  quite  right  j  and  yet  here  it  is  ; 
a  merging  of  activities,  the  Son  asking,  the  Father  sending  i 
the  Son  sending,  the  Spirit  coming ;  and  yet  a  unity  of  ac- 
tivity, the  unseen  God  revealed  in  the  Son,  the  Son  not 
Known  by  men,  for  "  no  one  knoweth  the  Son,  save  the 
Father  "  ;  the  unknown  Son  revealed  by  the  ministry  of 
the  Spirit.  The  unseen  Spirit  exercises  a  ministry  of  reve- 
lation from  the  Father  through  the  Son  to  the  disciples  ;  yet 
never  makes  Himself  the  consciousness  of  the  disciples  ; 
but  centralizing  their  consciousness  in  the  Christ,  through 
Him  they  have  consciousness  of  the  Father,  and  know  the 
presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit. 

Secondly,  the  office  of  the  Spirit  is  here  revealed  as  that 
of  the  Medium  of  union  between  the  Christ  and  His  people  ; 
the  Medium  of  vision  whereby  they  see  the  Christ  as  they 
had  never  seen  Him  before ;  the  Medium  of  energy,  ena- 
bling them  to  obey  the  light  as  it  comes  ;  the  Medium  of 
consolation,  for  by  the  very  strength  and  purity  of  His  ad- 
vocacy, constraining  to  obedience,  the  heart  is  fiUed  with  a 
sense  of  comfort. 

The  final  value  is  to  be  found  in  an  understanding  of  the 
present  fact.     Jesus  said,  "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He 


72  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

shall  give  you  another  Paraclete,  that  He  may  be  with  you 
forever,*^  *  In  this  connection  let  us  recognize  the  fact  that 
this  word  for  "  pray  "  is  never  used  save  in  John's  Gospel, 
and  is  never  used  of  any  prayer  other  than  the  prayer  of 
Christ.  It  is  one  that  suggests  familiarity,  equality,  and 
perfect  right.  "  I  will  make  request  of,"  reads  the  margin 
of  the  Revised  Version  ;  but  that  does  not  bring  us  much 
nearer  the  truth.  It  has  been  suggested  that  it  might  be 
translated,  "  I  will  enquire  of  the  Father  "  ;  but  even  that 
might  convey  the  idea  of  some  measure  of  ignorance.  The 
word  really  conveys  the  thought  of  the  turning  to  the  Father 
of  One  Who  asks  no  gift  from  Him,  but  who  indicates  to 
Him,  in  perfect  fellowship  of  purpose  and  power,  the  gift 
that  He  would  bestow  upon  His  people. 

When  did  He  pray  that  prayer  ?  The  great  intercessory 
prayer  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  John  immediately  fol- 
lows these  discourses ;  but  there  is  not  a  single  reference  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  therein  from  beginning  to  end.  The  prayer 
for  the  Spirit  was  not  a  prayer  offered  definitely,  in  our  sense 
of  praying;  it  was  the  prayer  of  His  own  triumphant  pres- 
ence in  Heaven.  So  Peter  surely  understood  the  word  of 
Christ,  when  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  he  delivered  his  first 
message,  and  declared  when  men  asked  "  What  meaneth 
this  ?  '*  that  this  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  manifes- 
tations following  thereupon,  had  resulted  from  the  presence 
of  the  Man  of  Nazareth  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  "  He 
hath  poured  forth  this,  which  ye  see  and  hear."  ^  The 
thought  of  Jesus  was  that  the  Spirit  would  be  given  in  new 
fashion  io  men,  not  in  answer  to  their  praying,  not  because 
of  their  worthiness,  but  as  the  great  gift  which  He  Himself 
would  bestow  as  the  result  of  the  completion  of  His  own 
mission,  and  by  the  way  of  His  passion. 

And  so  the  Spirit  was  given  in  that  new  sense,  and  He 
*  John  xiv.  1 6.  •  ^<;ts  ii.  12,  33 


The  Spirit  72 

has  never  been  withdrawn.  The  upper  room  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  when  the  tongues  of  fire  were  seen,  was  not 
more  the  shrine  of  the  Spirit  than  are  the  places  of  Chris- 
tian assembly  to-day ;  and  there  came  to  these  men  a  gift 
no  more  real  and  definite  than  is  ours,  if  we  are  indeed  the 
Lord's  own  disciples. 

Then  let  us  ever  remember  that  the  Spirit  is  with  us  ;  to 
disannul  all  orphanhood,  to  give  a  clear  consciousness  of 
the  living  Christ,  to  strengthen  for  witness  bearing,  to  make 
strong  in  the  midst  of  suffering,  and  to  realize  within  men 
ill  the  purposes  of  their  Lord. 


IV      ANGi&l.S 


"  The  reapers  are  angels  .  .  .  The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth 
His  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  His  Kingdom  all  things  that 
cause  stumbling,  and  them  that  do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  the 
furnace  of  fire :  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." — 
Matthew  xiii.  jg,  41,  42. 

*'  The  angels  shall  come  forth,  and  sever  the  wicked  from  among  the 
righteous,  and  shall  Cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire  :  there  shall  be  the 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." — xiii.  4gy30. 

«•  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father  with  His 
angels  ;  and  then  shall  He  render  unto  every  man  according  to  his  deeds." 
— xvi.  27. 

"  See  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones  ;  for  I  say  unto  you, 
that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  My  Father  which 
is  in  heaven." — xviii,  10. 

"  For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry,  nor  are  given  in  marriage, 
but  are  as  angels  in  heaven." — xxii.  jo. 

"  And  He  shall  send  forth  His  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet, 
and  they  shall  gather  together  His  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one 
end  of  heaven  to  the  other." 

"  But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  one,  not  even  the  angels  of 
heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father  only." — xxiv.  j/,j6. 

"  But  when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  and  all  the  angels 
with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit  on  the  throne  of  His  glory." — xxv.  ji. 

"  Or  thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  beseech  My  Father,  and  He  shall  even 
now  send  Me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  " — xxvi.  jj. 


"  For  whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  Me  and  My  words  in  this  adul* 
terous  and  sinful  generation,  the  Son  of  Man  also  shall  be  ashamed  of  him, 
when  He  cometh  in  the  glory  of  His  Father  with  the  holy  angels." — 
Mark  viii.  j8. 

"  For  when  they  shall  rise  from  the  dead,  they  neither  marry,  nor  are 
given  in  marriage  ;  but  are  as  angels  in  heaven." — xii.  2^. 

"  And  then  shall  He  send  forth  the  angels,  and  shall  gather  together 
His  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth  to  the 
uttermost  part  of  heaven. " 


««  But  of  that  day  or  that  hour  knoweth  no  one,  not  even  the  angels  in 
heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father." — xiii.  sjy  32. 


"  For  whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  Me  and  of  My  words,  of  him  shall 
the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed,  when  He  cometh  in  His  own  glory,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  holy  angels," — Lu^g  ix.  26. 

"  Every  one  who  shall  confess  Me  before  men,  him  shall  the  Son  of 
Man  also  confess  before  the  angels  of  God  :  but  he  that  denieth  Me  in 
the  presence  of  men  shall  be  denied  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
God."— ;c«.  8,  9. 

"  Even  so,  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth." — xv.  10. 

"  It  came  to  pass,  that  the  beggar  died,  and  that  he  was  carried  away 
by  the  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom." — xvi.  22. 

«  For  neither  can  they  die  any  more  :  for  they  are  equal  unto  the 
angels." — xx.  j6. 


"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Ye  shall  see  the  heavens  opened,  and 
the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  Man."— 
Johni^i, 


IV 

ANGELS 

Each  of  the  evangelists  has  some  story  or  stories  to  tell 
of  angel  ministry  in  connection  with  the  incarnate  Lord. 

Matthew  records  the  appearing  of  an  angel  to  Joseph,  the 
reputed  father  of  Jesus,  three  times;  then  of  how  angels 
ministered  to  Jesus  after  the  period  of  temptation  in  the 
wilderness ;  and  finally,  of  the  coming  of  the  angel  to  roll 
away  the  stone,  not  to  liberate  Christ,  but  to  show  that  He 
was  already  risen  j  and  of  his  declaration  to  the  two  Marys 
that  the  Lord  was  risen,  and  His  charge  to  them  to  go  and 
tell  His  disciples. 

Mark  significantly  only  speaks  of  the  ministry  of  angels 
after  the  temptation. 

Luke  records  the  visits  of  Gabriel  to  Zacharias  and  to 
Mary  ;  the  appearance  of  an  angel  to  the  shepherds,  and  of 
the  making  of  the  night  full  of  music  with  the  chorus  of  the 
heavenly  visitors.  He  also  tells  of  the  coming  of  an  angel 
into  Gethsemane,  and  of  how  he  ministered  to  the  Man  of 
Sorrows  in  the  hour  of  His  darkness  ;  and  finally  of  how  two 
disciples,  walking  to  Emmaus,  reported  that  certain  women 
claimed  to  have  seen  a  vision  of  angels. 

John  circumstantially  describes  how  Mary,  looking  into 
the  sepulchre,  from  which  the  stone  had  been  rolled  away, 
saw  two  angels  in  white,  sitting  one  at  the  head,  and  one 
at  the  feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain. 

All  these  references  are  simple,  natural,  straightforward, 
without  apology,  and  without  argument.  It  is  impossible 
to  read  these  stories,  and  believe  in  the  truthfulness  of  the 
men  who  wrote  them,  without  at  least  discovering  that  they 

79 


8o  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

evidently  themselves  believed  in  angels  ;  and  moreover,  that 
they  wrote  for  those  who  shared  that  belief.  Their  own 
belief  in  angels  is  evidenced  by  the  very  naturalness  and 
simplicity  with  which  they  told  their  stories.  Their  cer- 
tainty that  those  for  whom  they  wrote  believed  in  angels  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  they  never  argued  for  the  truth 
of  their  stories. 

When  we  turn  to  the  words  of  our  Lord  for  enlighten- 
ment on  the  subject  of  angels  we  again  find  no  systematic 
teaching  ;  but  we  have  such  references  as  set  the  seal  of 
His  authority  upon  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  angels; 
and  we  have  such  incidental  statements  as  reveal  something 
of  their  nature,  character,  and  ministry. 

In  grouping  these  references  chronologically,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  great  majority  of  them  occur  in  the 
records  of  the  later  part  of  His  ministry.  While  I  am  not 
prepared  to  set  any  particular  value  upon  the  fact;  in  all 
the  earlier  ministry.  He  hardly  made  any  reference  to  angels, 
as  He  made  hardly  any  reference  to  the  Spirit.  The  earlier 
ministry  would  seem  to  have  been  almost  exclusively  con- 
fined to  the  enunciation  of  an  ethic,  and  the  revelation  of  a 
power  equal  to  the  realization  of  the  ethical  ideal  presented. 
That  however  must  not  be  taken  as  final  interpretation  of 
the  fact. 

One  great  word  concerning  angels  was  however  spoken 
in  the  very  earliest  ministry.  It  is  the  only  reference  to 
angels  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  recorded  by  John  ;  and  yet 
John  was  the  mystic,  the  dreamer,  the  man  who  in  all 
probability  would  have  seen  visions  most  easily. 

This  first  word  was  spoken  to  Nathanael,  whom  Jesus 
described  as  being  "  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no 
guile."  The  very  humour  and  playfulness  of  that  word  of 
Christ  will  be  discovered  if  we  realize  that  in  effect  He 
said,  "  An  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  Jacob**     "  An 


Angels  8 1 

Israelite  indeed,"  that  is,  one  realizing  all  that  which  was 
the  Divine  intention  for  Jacob;  and  therefore  thou  shalt 
see  Jacob's  dream  fulfilled  ;  "  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  Man."  * 

That  is  the  reference  to  angels  upon  the  portal  of  John's 
Gospel;  a  statement  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  ministry 
of  Christ ;  and  in  itself  figurative,  symbolic,  suggestive,  in- 
elusive  and  final,  on  the  subject  of  angelic  ministry  in  the 
new  covenant  and  dispensation  which  He  had  come  to  create. 

Then  moving  chronologically  through  the  ministry  of 
Jesus,  the  next  references  are  found  in  the  Kingdom  par- 
ables,^ wherein  He  referred  to  angels  as  taking  part  with 
Him  in  His  final  administration  of  the  government  of  this 
world,  for  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  He 
described  their  work  as  that  of  separating  between  the  tares 
and  the  wheat ;  severing  between  that  which  is  good  and 
bad  when  the  great  drag-net  is  brought  to  shore,  having  all 
kinds  of  fishes  therein.  The  angels  are  to  be  His  ministers, 
discriminating,  dividing,  administering,  at  the  end  of  the  age. 

Chronologically  every  other  reference  to  angels  was  made 
after  Caesarea  Philippi,  after  the  hour  in  which  Peter  had 
made  his  great  confession,  and  in  which  the  Lord  had  be- 
gun to  speak  of  His  coming  passion  and  His  coming  sor- 
row. Then  the  references  to  angels  became  more  numer- 
ous. Let  us  attempt  to  gather  up  the  teaching  of  our  Lord 
under  the  three  heads  already  mentioned — the  nature  of  the  , 
angels ;  the  character  of  the  angels  ;  and  principally — for 
under  this  head  we  have  more  references  than  under  any 
other — the  ministry  of  the  angels. 

As   to  the  nature  of  angels,  let  it  be  at  once  recognized 
that   the   references   are   very    {ew^  and   that  they  can  only 
aflx)rd  some  gleams   of  light.     Yet   they   afford  light  suffi- 
cient  for  our  present   need,  and   for  an   understanding  oi 
»  I  John  i.  47,  51.  8  Matt.  xiii.  39,  41,  49,,?0. 


82  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

their  nature.  No  reference  is  of  the  nature  of  a  definite 
and  systematic  declaration  ;  each  is  but  incidental. 

The  first  is  that  recorded  by  Matthew,  by  Mark,  and  by 
Luke,  when  in  answer  to  a  Sadducean  question  as  to  the 
resurrection  and  marriage,  our  Lord  made  this  statement : 

"  In  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in 
marriage,  but  are  as  angels  in  heaven."  * 

In  that  incidental  statement  we  have  perhaps  more  light 
than  appears  at  first.  We  have  our  Lord's  declaration  that 
angel  life  is  entirely  different  from  human  life  ;  in  that  it  is 
not  terrestrial,  nor  can  be  ;  but  that  it  is  celestial,  and  must 
abide  celestial.  In  other  words  He  thus  declared  that  in  angel 
nature  there  is  neither  male  nor  female,  and  by  that  word  He 
denied  forever  that  fantastic  and  foolish  idea  that  "  the  sons  of 
God  "  in  Genesis  were  angels  ;  and  made  it  perfectly  clear 
that  in  angel-life  that  inter-relationship,  which  we  know  in 
earthly  life  as  marriage,  is  non-existent  and  impossible. 

The  angels  are  direct  creations  of  God;  each  individual 
one  is  immediately  created  by  God  ;  and  in  that  sense  they 
are  the  "  sons  of  God."  That  sweeps  out  all  the  ideas 
that  bring  angels  at  all  into  kinship  with  humanity.  They 
are  of  a  different  order  of  being,  of  an  entirely  different  na- 
ture, not  to  be  thought  of  as  we  think  of  men  and  women 
to-day.  Of  course  the  main  point  of  His  teaching  in  this 
connection  was  that,  m  the  life  beyond,  men  and  women 
will  have  come  into  the  angel  realm  of  life,  and  share  in  some 
sense  their  nature,  but  He  separated  the  angels  from  the 
earth  as  to  kinship.  He  showed  that  the  angels  are  the 
ministers  of  God,  touching  the  earth,  visiting  the  earth,  in- 
terested in  the  earth  ;  but  never  of  the  earth.  They  are  an 
entirely  different  order  and  race  of  beings  ;  and  they  are 
never  procreated,  but  are  always  the  direct  creation  of  God 
Himself.     There  is  no  light  upon  their  nature  beyond  that. 

1  Matt.  xxii.  30. 


Angels  83 

The  mystery  is  not  explained,  because  it  cannot  be  explained 
to  men  in  this  life.  There  are  things  of  which  we  in  this 
present  limited  life  can  never  come  to  full  comprehension,  or 
know  the  meaning.  This  gleam  of  light  does  however  clearly 
reveal  that  they  are  not  terrestrial  as  man  is  j  but  celestial, 
wholly  of  the  spirit  world.  This  does  not  mean  to  say  that 
there  is  no  material  side  to  the  being  of  an  angel,  for  there 
may  be  a  material  which  is  not  of  the  earth  ;  but  it  divides 
between  the  angels  and  humanity,  and  shows  that  the  gulf 
separating  is  the  gulf  of  an  absolute  difference  in  nature. 

Then  in  one  gleam  of  light  in  the  record  of  Luke  we  learn 
a  second  thing  concerning  the  angels.  As  by  the  three  ref- 
erences we  have  referred  to,  we  have  discovered  they  are 
not  terrestrial ;  in  this  statement  we  learn  they  are  not 
mortal,  but  immortal ;  "  neither  can  they  die."  ' 

In  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews  this  teaching  of  Jesus  is  car- 
ried out  by  the  writer  in  relation  to  the  Lord  Himself,  when 
he  declares  that  : 

"  Verily  not  of  angels  doth  He  take  hold,  but  He  taketh 
hold  of  the  seed  of  Abraham."  ^  The  reason  for  this  was 
that  by  taking  human  nature  He  could  die.  Thus  the 
second  fact  revealed  in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  about 
angels  is  that  they  cannot  die. 

In  an  incidental  reference,  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  things  our  Lord  ever  said  concerning  Himself, 
we  have  this  final  thought  concerning  their  nature  ;  they  are 
not  omniscient,  they  do  not  know  all  things,  they  only 
know  the  things  revealed  to  them  : 

"  Of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  one,  not  even  the 
angels  of  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father  only."^ 

Here  is  a  distinct  declaration  that  the  angels  are  limited  in 
^heir  knowledge,  never  to  be  thought  of  as  infinite,  but  al- 
vays  finite;  created  beings,  of  some  heavenly  order  and 
1  Luke  XX.  36.  '  Heb.  ii.  16.  '  Matt.  xxiv.  36. 


84  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

type,  without  dying,  and  limited  in  their  knowledge,  know- 
ing only  the  things  revealed. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  as  to  the  character  of  the  angels  is 
revealed  in  the  fact  that  He  only  used  one  adjective  con- 
cerning them,  and  that  only  on  two  occasions. 

He  spoke  of  them  as  the  "  holy  angels."  ^  It  may  be  that 
His  use  of  the  word  "  holy  *'  on  both  these  occasions  was 
intended  to  distinguish  between  the  angels  to  whom  He  was 
referring,  and  other  angels  that  are  unholy  ;  the  fallen  angels. 
But  even  if  that  be  so,  it  does  not  detract  from  the  positive 
value  of  the  adjective  that  He  used.  He  called  them  holy, 
using  that  word  which  means  quite  simply,  awful;  aiid  yet 
which  always  stands  for  the  awfulness  of  sanctity,  or  separa- 
tion ;  and  which  is  always  connected  with  the  sanctity  or  sepa- 
ration of  an  absolute  purity.  It  is  interesting  to  ^o  through 
the  words  of  Jesus  and  see  how  often  He  used  that  word 
holy,  and  in  what  relationship.  He  used  it  of  His  own 
high  ideals,  when  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  He  said  : 
"  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast 
your  pearls  before  the  swine."  He  used  it  of  the  Temple 
by  quotation  from  Daniel,  when  He  described  it  as  "  the 
holy  place."  He  used  it  perpetually,  as  we  have  seen,  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  He  used  it  of  God  Himself,  "  Holy 
Father."     He  used  it  of  the  angels. 

These  are  only  gleams  of  light,  but  through  them  I  see  an 
order  of  being;  every  individual  member  of  the  great  order 
created  by  God  ;  belonging  to  the  things  celestial  and  hav- 
ing no  natural  contact  with  the  things  terrestrial ;  not  mortal 
but  immortal ;  not  knowing  all  things,  but  learning,  and  re- 
ceiving, and  knowing  the  things  revealed  ;  sinless,  absolutely 
pure,  awful  in  their  holiness,  with  the  very  holiness  of  God. 

We  turn  now  to  our  Lord's  teaching  concerning  the  min- 
istry of  angels. 

*  Mark  viii.  38.     Luke  ix.  26. 


Angels  85 

The  first  word,  as  I  have  already  said,  is  inclusive  and 
comprehensive.  We  remember  that  the  language  is  figura- 
tive, and  yet  let  us  ponder  it.  He  said  to  Nathanael :  "  Ye 
shall  see  the  heaven  opened,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  Man."  ' 

By  that  word  He  revealed  the  fact  that  He  thought  of 
angels  as  engaged  in  a  perpetual  ministry  of  communion  be- 
tween this  earth  and  the  heaven  that  lies  beyond.  Every 
word  is  figurative  ;  "  ascending  and  descending  "  is  a  figura- 
tive term,  employed  to  convey  great  meanings  to  the  mind 
of  men  who  are  necessarily  limited  by  such  thoughts  as  those 
of  ascent  and  descent.  Notice  the  suggestiveness  of  this. 
Angels  ascending  and  descending  !  The  thought  of  our 
Lord  was  in  harmony  with  the  thought  of  the  dream  of  the 
olden  time,  and  was  not  that  of  angels  as  abiding  in  their 
own  habitation  in  the  celestial  places  ;  but  of  them  as  com- 
mitted to  a  ministry  of  service  among  the  sons  of  men  ;  and 
then  ascending,  and  bearing  up  messages  to  the  higher 
places  ;  not  to  tell  God  the  things  they  see,  for  men  live 
and  move  and  have  their  being  in  God  ;  but  to  convey  the 
story  to  other  intelligences,  and  to  make  known  to  other 
worlds  the  facts  happening  here  ;  and  then  descending  with 
answers  to  petitions  they  have  borne  away,  to  bring  the  min- 
istry of  another  and  a  distant  world,  and  the  things  of  a 
larger  and  a  more  infinite  life,  to  touch  and  help  and  renew 
man  in  the  processes  of  his  probationary  career. 

This  word  was  the  ratification  of  Jacob's  dream,  and  in 
the  august  statement  our  Lord  declared  that  His  mission  in  the 
world  was  that  of  fulfilling  the  dream  of  Jacob,  and  making 
this   ministry  of  angels  no  longer  occasional,  but  perpetual. 

Is  not  that  what  the  writer  of  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews 
meant  when  he  wrote,  "  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits^ 
sent  forth  to  do  service  for  the  sake  of  them  that  shall  in- 
1  John  i.  51. 


86  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

herit  salvation  ?  "  *  Thus  we  learn  from  that  first  reference 
that  angels  are  now  occupied,  under  the  government  of  God, 
in  the  service  of  humanity. 

The  next  fact  we  learn  is  from  the  next  word  in  order, 
which  declared  that  the  angels  are  specially  committed  to  the 
guardianship  of  children.  If  you  are  inclined  to  speak  of  it 
as  poetry,  I  pray  you  read  the  words  again.  It  was,  on  the 
part  of  Jesus,  not  a  figure  of  speech  merely.  It  was  a 
solemn  asseveration.  He  said  distinctly,  when  speaking  of 
the  children,  of  the  little  ones,  that  their  angels  in  heaven  do 
always  behold  the  face  of  the  Father.  He  was  suggesting 
to  those  who  listened  to  Him  the  honour  conferred  upon 
the  angels,  in  that  they  have  right  of  access  to  the  immediate 
presence  of  God,  that  their  vision  of  God  is  clear  and  un- 
clouded, that  they  do  always  behold  the  face  of  God.  And 
these  angels  guard  the  children.  If  such  honoured  beings 
are  set  apart  by  God  to  watch  the  children,  then  how  sacred 
their  wards  must  be  : 

"  See  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones  ** ;  *  for  their 
angels  have  perpetual  access  to  the  presence  of  God,  they  "  do 
always  behold  the  face  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

I  know  the  age  in  which  we  live;  I  know  the  spirit  out- 
side the  sanctuary,  the  scepticism,  the  criticism  ;  and  that 
people  will  say.  Do  you  really  believe  angels  guard  the  chil- 
dren ?  I  certainly  do  ;  for  I  do  not  believe  we  have  seen 
all  the  facts  of  life  when  we  have  looked  into  each  other's 
faces.  I  believe  in  the  ministry  of  angels,  and  that  for  every 
bairn  there  is  a  guardian  angel  who  always  beholds  the  face 
of  God.  That  is  one  of  my  profoundest  convictions,  be- 
cause He  said  so ;  and  I  believe  it  in  spite  of  all  that  scepti- 
cism may  say  to  attempt  to  shake  my  conviction. 

The  next  word  as  to  the  present  ministry  of  angels  we 
find  in  that  wonderful  chapter  in  which  Luke  alone  has 
*  Heb.  i.  14.  '  Matt,  xviii.  10 


Angels  87 

given   us  the  threefold  parable  of  the  lost  things :  the  lost 
piece  of  silver,  the   lost  sheep,  and  the  lost  son.     In  the 
midst  of  that  unveiling  of  God's  heart,  our  Lord  declared 
that  there   is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  ;  a 
profounder  and  deeper  thing  than  telling  us  that  the  angels 
are   filled  with  joy.     "  In   the   presence  of  the  angels,"  in 
the  observation  of  the  angels,  in  the  place  where  the  angels 
are,  there  is  joy.     In  all  the  highest  courts  of  heaven,  in 
the  true  centre  of  everything,  in  God  Himself.     The  angels 
are  mentioned  because  they  become  the  voices  of  the  heav- 
enly joy  ;  and  as  o'er  the  plains  of  Bethlehem  they  sang  the 
song  of  the  coming  Redeemer,  so  forevermore  they  thunder 
forth   in    sweetest  music  the  joy  of  God  over  bruised  and 
broken   men  and  women,  weeping  their  way  back  to  His 
heart  and  to  His  love.     Their  ministry,  their  present  min-  , 
istry  is  that  of  the  perpetual  chorus,  the  offering  of  praise  in 
the  high  places  of  the  universe,  whenever  men  turn  home 
to  God.     Ah,  what  fools  and  blind  we  are  !     We  did  not 
think  much  of  it  that  some  man  recently  found  his  way  back 
out  of  slum  or  suburb,  out  of  his  desolation  and  misery  and  sin 
to  God ;  but  when  he  came,  with  the  sigh  and  the  tear  of  ag- 
ony and  repentance,  heaven  was  filled  with  joy,  and  the  angels 
voiced  the  joy  of  heaven.     That  is  their  perpetual  ministry. 
We  learn  next   from  a  word  of  Jesus  recorded  by  Luke 
;hat  angels  become  the  guides  home  of  the  d'ying.     When 
I  man  dies,  he  finds  entrance  upon  another  order  of  life. 
Dying;  what  is   it?     Leaving  behind   the  chance  of  ever 
^ying.     It  is  a  dropping  of  the  robe  of  flesh,  which  alone 
can  die,  and  going  out  into  the  new  order  of  life.     I  can 
imagine^  the  spirit  of  a  man  finding  himself  just  across  the 
border,  in  the  presence  of  the  new  reality,  full  of  mystery ; 
filled  with  the  consciousness  of  loneliness,  and  of  perplexity, 
knowing  nothing  of  how  to  proceed.     Jesus  said  that  suc>. 
a  man  was  carried  by  the  angels  into  Abraham^s  bosom. 


88  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

^'  Abraham's  bosom  "  was  a  Jewish  phrase,  used  to  de- 
scribe the  very  heart  of  Heaven,  the  chief  place  of  joy  in 
the  life  that  lay  beyond.  And  thither,  He  said,  angels  bore 
Lazarus;  they  met  him,  conducted  him,  carried  him.  I 
think  they  still  do  it.  I  believe  that  when  our  loved  ones 
have  just  passed  where  our  voices  can  no  longer  reach,  our 
eyes  cheer,  our  hands  minister ;  angels  welcome  them  and 
bear  them  to  some  one  of  the  habitations  of  the  blessed,  and 
lead  them  out  in  the  first  pilgrimages  of  that  great  and  won- 
drous life  that  lies  beyond. 

The  final  thing  He  said  about  their  present  ministry  is 
full  of  fire  and  force  and  flaming  glory.  He  was  in  the 
garden.  Peter  had  blundered  by  the  use  of  his  sword  at  the 
wrong  place,  and  at  the  wrong  time.  Men  were  arresting 
Him,  and  He  said  to  Peter  : 

"Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  beseech  My  Father,  and 
He  shall  even  now  send  Me  more  than  twelve  legions  of 
angels  ?  "  ' 

It  is  a  flame  of  glory,  as  full  of  mystery  as  it  is  possible 
to  imagine.  Twelve  legions;  twelve,  a  peculiar  Hebrew 
word,  that  all  His  disciples  would  understand  ;  twelve  tribes, 
twelve  apostles,  twelve,  always  twelve;  legions,  a  peculiarly 
Roman  word,  six   thousand  footmen,  in  addition  to  cavalry. 

Angels,  flaming  presences  of  unspotted  purity,  might  have 
delivered  Him,  for  He 

*'  makcth  His  angels  winds, 
And  His  ministers  a  flame  of  fire  "  ; ' 

and  for  the  purposes  of  God  they  can  touch  and  deal  with 
things  terrestrial  The  marvel  of  all  marvels  is  that  He 
simply  drew  the  veil,  and  gave  us  to  see  something  of  the 
gleaming  myriads  of  angels  ready  to  do  the  behests  of  the 
King,  and  then  chose  to  remain  alone.  And  if  you  ask  me, 
»  Matt.  XX vi.  53.  •  Heb.  i.  7. 


Angels  89 

Why  ?  there  is  but  one  answer,  "  He  loved  me,  and  gavi 
Himself  up  for  me." 

Then  our  Lord  also  described  the  future  ministry  of 
angels ;  and  here  perhaps  we  are  in  graver  difficulty  ;  and 
yet  the  words  of  Jesus  are  perhaps  more  circumstantial  than 
in  any  other  application.  He  declared  that  He  will  come 
again,  that  He  will  once  again  be  focused  for  earthly  ob- 
servation. He  Who  came  will  come,  and  His  next  coming 
will  be  in  glory ;  and  the  angels  will  be  in  attendance  in  the 
hour  of  His  vindication.  They  who  have  been  unseen 
ministers  will  be  visible  attendants  upon  His  glory .^ 

He  declared,  moreover,  that  in  that  hour  of  judgment,  of 
discriminating  justice  which  the  world  so  sorely  needs,  He 
will  bring  angels  to  aid  Him ;  from  the  Kingdom  they  shall 
gather  out  the  things  that  offend,  that  they  may  be  destroyed, 
in  order  that  all  the  things  of  brightness  and  glory  and  beauty 
may  have  their  full  realization. 

Thus  the  teaching  of  Christ  directly  affirmed  the  existence 
of  angels,  and  gave  some  understanding  of  their  nature,  their 
character,  and  their  ministry.  That  teaching  was  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  Sadducean  influence  which  was  powerful 
in  His  time.  The  high  priest  was  a  Sadducee.  The  domi- 
nant power  was  Sadducean ;  and  in  Paul's  great  address, 
chronicled  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  find  the  definition 
of  the  Sadducee;  he  was  one  who  denied  resurrection,  and 
angel,  and  spirit.^  In  the  midst  of  that  Sadducean  influence 
and  atmosphere  our  Lord  proclaimed,  by  all  these  references, 
His  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  angels. 

A  fuller  study  of  the  theme  would  show  the  relation  of 
this  teaching  to  the  Hebrew  past  and  the  apostolic  future. 
That  of  course  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  these 
meditations.  His  first  word  about  the  angels  spoken  to 
Nathanael  was  linked  to  the  teaching  of  Jacob's  dream  ;  and 
His  last  word  about  the  angels,  spoken  in  the  garden  con.. 

»  Matt.  xvi.  27.  8  Acts  xxiii.  8. 


90  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

cerning  the  twelve  legions,  was  linked  to  the  teaching  of  that 
wonderful  vision  in  Kings,  when  Elisha  prayed  that  the  eyes 
of  his  servant  might  be  opened ;  and  when  they  were  opened, 

**  Lo,  to  faith's  enlightened  sight. 

All  the  mountains  flamed  with  light." 

Thus  our  Lord  accepted  the  Hebrew  view  of  the  angels; 
and  in  doing  so.  He  sealed  it  as  true.  When  we  turn  from 
these  Gospels  to  the  apostolic  writings,  the  same  truths  are 
maintained.  Angels  are  still  referred  to  as  the  armies  of 
heaven.  It  is  still  declared  that  they  minister  to  the  saints. 
We  see  them  divided  into  ranks  and  orders,  and  yet  united 
in  service ;  and  the  worship  of  angels  is  emphatically  con- 
demned, forbidden. 

According  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  when  we  take  our 
way  from  the  sanctuary  and  into  the  life  of  every  day,  we 
receive  ministries  other  than  material,  ministries  other  than 
the  essentially  spiritual ;  not  only  fellowship  with  the  Fa- 
ther and  with  the  Son  and  with  the  Spirit;  but,  to  aid  us  in 
a  thousand  ways  of  which  we  do  not  dream,  the  touch  of 
other  creations  upon  our  lives,  whispers  in  language  we 
cannot  catch  so  as  to  repeat  it,  which  has  its  influence  upon 
us  in  the  hour  of  danger.  I  believe  in  the  ministry  of  angels 
because  our  Lord  has  taught  me  so  to  do. 

"  They  come,  God's  messengers  of  love. 
They  come  from  realms  of  peace  above. 
From  homes  of  never-fading  light. 
From  heavenly  mansions  ever  bright. 

"  They  come  to  watch  around  us  here. 
To  soothe  our  sorrow,  calm  our  fear : 
They  come  to  speed  us  on  our  way ; 
God  willeth  them  with  us  to  stay. 

^«  But  chiefly  at  its  journey's  end 
'Tis  theirs  the  spirit  to  befriend. 
And  whisper  to  the  faithful  hean, 
*  O  Christian  soul,  in  peace  depart. 


>  n 


V.    SA  1  AN  AND  DEMONS 


"  Get  thee  hence,  Satan." — Matthew  iv.  lo. 

«  Bring  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one." — vi.  /j 

«« If  they  have  called  the  master  of  the  house  Beelzebub,  how  much 
more  shall  they  call  them  of  his  household  !  " — x.  2^. 

"  If  Satan  casteth  out  Satan,  he  is  divided  against  himself;  how  then 
shall  his  kingdom  stand  ?  And  if  I  by  Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by  whom 
do  your  sons  cast  them  out  ?  " — xii.  26,  27. 

*•  But  the  unclean  spirit,  when  he  is  gone  out  of  the  man,  passeth  through 
waterless  places,  seeking  rest,  and  findeth  it  not.  Then  he  saith,  I  will 
return  into  my  house  whence  I  came  out ;  and  when  he  is  come,  he  find- 
eth it  empty,  swept,  and  garnished.  Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  with 
himself  seven  other  spirits  more  evil  than  himself,  and  they  enter  in 
and  dwell  there  :  and  the  last  state  of  that  man  becometh  worse  than  the 
first." — xii.  43-43. 

«  When  any  one  heareth  the  word  of  the  Kingdom,  and  understandeth 
it  not,  then  cometh  the  evil  one,  and  snatcheth  away  that  which  hath  been 
sown  in  his  heart." 

«'  He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  Man  ;  and  the  field  is  the 
world ;  and  the  good  seed,  these  are  the  sons  of  the  Kingdom ;  and  the 
tares  are  the  sons  of  the  evil  one ;  and  the  enemy  that  sowed  them  is 
the  devil." — xiii.  ig,  37-39. 

"  Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan  :  thou  art  a  stumbling-block  unto  Me :  fov 
thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God,  but  the  things  of  men." — xvt.  23. 

"  Depart  from  Me,  ye  cursed,  into  the  eternal  fire  which  is  prepared  for 
the  devil  and  his  angels." — xxv.  41. 


*'  These  are  they  by  the  wayside,  where  the  word  is  sown ;  and  when 
they  have  heard,  straightway  cometh  Satan,  and  taketh  away  the  word 
which  hath  been  sown  in  them." — Mark  iv.  13. 

*'  Ceme  forth,  thou  unclean  spirit,  out  of  the  man." — v.  8. 

"Jesus  .  .  .  rebuked  the  unclean  spirit,  saying  unto  him.  Thou 
dumb  and  deaf  spirit,  I  command  thee,  come  out  of  him,  and  enter  no 
more  into  him." — ix.  23. 


««And  those  by  the  wayside  are  they  that  have  heard;  then  cometh 
the  devil,  and  taketh  away  the  word  from  their  heart,  that  they  may  not 
believe  and  be  saved." — Luke  viii.  la. 


"  I  beheld  Satan  fallen  as  lightning  from  heaven.  Behold,  I  have  given 
you  authority  to  tread  upon  serpents  and  scorpions,  and  over  all  the  power 
of  the  enemy :  and  nothing  shall  in  anywise  hurt  you.  Howbeit  in  this 
rejoice  not,  that  the  spirits  are  subject  unto  you ;  but  rejoice  that  your 
names  are  written  in  heaven." — x.  18-20. 

«  The  unclean  spirit  when  he  is  gone  out  of  the  man,  passeth  through 
waterless  places,  seeking  rest;  and  finding  none, he  saith,  I  will  turn  back 
unto  my  house  whence  I  came  out.  And  when  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it 
swept  and  garnished.  Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  to  him  seven  other 
spirits  more  evil  than  himself;  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there;  and  the 
last  state  of  that  man  becometh  worse  than  the  first." — xi.  24-26. 

"  Ought  not  this  woman,  being  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan 
had  bound,  lo,  these  eighteen  years,  to  have  been  loosed  from  this  bond 
on  the  day  of  the  Sabbath  ?  " — xiii.  16. 

"  Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Satan  asked  to  have  you,  that  he  might  sift  you 
as  wheat." — xxii.ji. 


"  Did  not  I  choose  you  the  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil  ?  " — 
John  vi.  yo. 

"  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  it  is  your 
will  to  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  stood  not  in  the 
truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him.  When  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he  speak 
eth  of  his  own:  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  thereof." — viii.  44. 

"  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world ;  now  shall  the  prince  of  this 
world  be  cast  out." — xii.  31. 

**  I  will  no  more  speak  much  with  you,  for  the  prince  of  the  world 
Cometh :  and  he  hath  nothing  in  Me." — xtv.  jo. 

"  Of  judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this  world  hath  been  judged."— 
xvi.  II. 


SATAN  AND  DEMONS 

In  the  study  of  the  religions  of  the  world,  there  is  perhaps 
nothing  more  startling  than  the  discovery  of  the  universal 
belief  in  the  existence  of  a  dark  under-world  of  spiritual  be- 
ings in  antagonism  to  all  that  is  highest  in  man,  and  to  all 
that  makes  for  his  happiness  or  holiness.  Every  form  of  re- 
ligion, from  the  fetish  worship  which  is  considered  the  lowest, 
to  the  highest  conceptions,  includes  belief  in  the  existence 
of  such  forces.  The  differences  between  religions  in  this 
respect  are  differences  in  the  attitude  of  the  mind  to  these 
spiritual  antagonisms;  all  believing  in  their  existence. 

New  Testament  writers  recognized  these  forces,  and  gave 
very  definite  teaching  concerning  their  opposition  to  man,  his 
conflict  with  them,  and  the  way  of  victory  over  them.  This 
belief  in  the  existence  of  such  an  under-world  of  spiritual  be- 
ings in  antagonism  to  man  is  so  closely  interwoven  with  the 
texture  of  these  Gospel  stories  that  the  most  casual  description 
of  their  contents  must  include  some  reference  to  them.  In- 
deed, it  is  a  conspicuous  fact  that  the  Incarnation  resulted, 
not  only  in  the  manifestation  of  God,  and  the  interpretation 
of  man ;  but  also  in  the  unmasking  of  Satan.  Whereas  in  the 
Word  incarnate  we  have  in  very  deed  seen  the  Father;  and 
whereas  in  that  selfsame  Man  of  Nazareth  we  have  had  an 
explanation  of  the  mystery  of  our  own  being  ;  it  is  equally 
true  that  as  the  result  of  His  presence  and  His  teaching  the 
apostle  was  able  to  write  long  ago  concerning  the  enemy  of 
the  race,  "  We  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices.** 

95 


96  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

We  turn  then,  with  reverent  interest,  to  the  teaching  of  our 
Lord  on  this  great  and  confessedly  mysterious  subject ;  and 
in  doing  so  two  matters  impress  us,  to  which  reference  must 
be  made  by  way  of  introduction  ;  first  that  here  again  we  have 
no  systematic  teaching,  no  attempt  to  satisfy  curiosity,  or  to 
supply  knowledge  simply  in  order  to  make  men  "  wise  and 
understanding,"  to  use  our  Lord's  descriptive  words  of  the 
men  from  whom  the  ways  of  God  are  forever  hidden.  But 
on  the  other  hand  as  we  read  these  records,  intermixed  with 
the  teaching  of  the  Master,  we  find  enough  references  to  this 
under-world  of  evil,  to  yield  a  mass  of  material ;  and  to  afford 
very  clear  conceptions  to  those  who,  convinced  of  the  un- 
erring wisdom  of  the  Teacher,  listen  with  the  simplicity  of 
babes,  in  order  to  know  and  do  the  will  of  the  Father. 

It  is  impossible  to  quote  here  all  the  references  to  the  sub- 
ject in  the  Gospels.  A  tabulation  of  results  must  suffice, 
referring  to  some  outstanding  and  representative  words  of 
the  Lord,  under  two  headings  :  first  His  teaching  concern- 
ing Satan  •,  and  secondly  His  teaching  concerning  those 
whom  He  described  as  his  angels. 

First,  then,  the  teachmg  of  our  Lord  concerning  Satan. 
The  references  of  Jesus  to  Satan  are  too  many  and  too  ex- 
plicit to  need  any  argument  to  prove  His  belief  in  the  exist- 
ence of  a  spiritual  personality  of  great  subtlety,  and  of  great 
power,  who  is  actively  engaged  in  evil  operations  producing 
evil  results.  No  man  can  deny  the  personality  of  Satan  with- 
out either  denying  the  accuracy  of  these  records,  or  asserting 
that  Christ  was  a  child  of  His  own  age,  influenced  merely 
by  the  opinions  of  that  age,  and  mistaken.  To  those  who 
accept  Him  as  the  final,  infallible,  authoritative  Teacher,  and 
who  believe  in  the  accuracy  of  the  records,  no  argument  is 
needed  as  to  the  personality,  or  as  to  the  fact  of  the  activity 
of  such  a  personality  in  the  universe. 

Our  business  is  to  endeavour  to  set  this  being,  as  Jesus 


Satan  and  Demons  97 

saw  him,  and  to  understand  him  in  the  light  of  His 
teaching.  In  doing  this  we  shall  notice  first  the  names  by 
which  He  called  him  ;  and  secondly  the  terms  by  which 
He  defined  him.  Here  again,  we  have  no  set  discourse  on 
the  person  of  Satan ;  but  in  the  midst  of  His  teaching,  our 
Lord  referred  to  him,  named  him,  and  used  certain  titles 
for  him  which  are  definitions  j  and  from  these  names  and 
these  titles  we  gather  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  concerning 
Satan. 

First,  then,  the  names  by  which  our  Lord  referred  to  this 
personality.  There  were  three,  and  three  only  ;  and  they 
were  all  taken  from  the  Hebrew  economy.  Each  one  of 
them  is  to  be  found  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
It  is  important  that  we  should  understand  that  our  Lord 
came  to  exercise  His  ministry  as  the  Hebrew  Messiah  j  and 
that  by  all  His  references  to  their  theology,  and  to  their  great 
religious  conceptions.  He  set  the  seal  of  His  authority  upon 
them,  in  so  far  as  they  had  gone.  Each  name  by  which 
He  referred  to  this  adversary  was  a  name  perfectly  familiar 
to  the  ears  of  His  hearers,  perfectly  well  kngwn  in  the 
Hebrew  economy.  The  three  names  are,  Satan,  the  Devil, 
and  Beelzebub. 

The  word  "  Satan  "  was  in  its  first  use  a  title  rather  than 
a  name  ;  but  in  the  process  of  the  history  of  Hebrew  the- 
ology it  had  become  a  definite  name  attached  to  one  person. 
The  simple  meaning  of  the  word  is  adversary ;  and  first  of 
all,  adversary  in  a  legal  sense ;  so  that  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment the  word  is  used,  not  always  of  a  spiritual  enemy, 
and  not  always  of  an  evil  enemy.  Job  used  the  word  of 
God  Himself,  when  he  described  Him  as  his  Adversary; 
He  was  his  Adversary  at  law,  the  One  Who  was  against 
him.  Whether  that  was  a  mistake  on  the  part  of  Job  is 
not  now  to  be  discussed.  As  we  take  our  way  through  the 
writings  of  the  Heljrew  people,  we  find  that  gradually  the 


98  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

name  was  retained  for  this  one  personality,  of  whom  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  very  definite  conception,  and  no 
very  clear  teaching;  save  that  he  was  a  spiritual  being,  of 
vast  wisdom  and  tremendous  power,  who  was  at  war  with 
the  purpose  of  God.  Our  Lord  took  that  name,  and  used 
it  in  His  references  to  tnis  personality. 

He  also  used  the  name  which  we  translate  as  "  the  devil," 
the  Greek  word  diabolos^  which  rrteans  the  traducer,  the 
false  accuser  ;  and  necessarily  in  that  word  there  was  al- 
ways the  thought  and  suggestion  of  evil  which  was  not  at 
first  associated  with  the  other  word,  adversary.  Upon  two 
occasions  only,  our  Lord  made  use  of  the  word  by  which 
this  being  was  designated  by  the  Pharisees,  Beelzebub.  It 
is  a  terrible  word,  Baal,  zebub  ;  Baal,  the  master,  zebub,  of 
the  flies;  that  is,  the  dung-god,  the  genius  presiding  over 
corruption. 

To  pass  in  review  the  occasions  upon  which  our  Lord 
made  use  of  the  name  Satan  ;  in  the  hour  of  His  tempta- 
tion it  is  recorded  that  He  said  to  the  tempter,  "  Get  thee 
hence,  Satan:' '  In  His  conflict  with  the  Pharisees,  when 
they  declared  that  He  was  cooperating  with  Satan  in  the 
working  of  His  miracles  of  exorcism,  Christ  said,  "  If  Satan 
casteth  out  Satan^  he  is  divided  against  himself;  how  then 
shall  his  kingdom  stand  ?  "  ^  In  His  explanation  of  the 
parable  of  the  sower  to  His  own  disciples,  He  spoke  of  the 
enemy,  saying,  "  Straightway  cometh  Satan^  and  taketh 
away  the  word  which  hath  been  sown  in  them."  ^  In  His 
address  to  Peter  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  at  that  parting  of  the 
ways  in  His  ministry,  He  spoke  those  terrifically  solemn 
words,  addressing  them  to  the  man,  and  yet  through  the 
man  speaking  to  the  personality  whom  He  recognized  be- 
hind  the  disciple,  "Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan  :  thou  art  a 
stumbling-block  unto  Me:  for  thou  mindest  not  the  things 
*  Matt.  iv.  10.  '  /did.,  xii.  26.       ,     '  Mark  iv.  15. 


Satan  and  Demons  99 

of  God,  but  the  things  of  men."  ^  In  His  word  to  the 
seventy  returned  from  their  victorious  mission,  He  said,  "  I 
beheld  Satan  fallen  as  lightning  from  heaven."  ^  Once, 
when  describing  a  woman  who  for  long  years  had  been  in 
infirmity  He  said,  "  Ought  not  this  woman,  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  had  bound,  lo,  these  eighteen 
years,  to  have  been  loosed  from  this  bond  on  the  day  of  the 
Sabbath  .?  "  ^  And  at  last,  amid  the  shadows  of  the  Pass- 
over feast  and  discourses  He  uttered  that  illuminative  word, 
"  Satan  asked  to  have  you,  that  he  might  sift  you  as  wheat : 
but  I  made  supplication  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not."  * 

That  is  merely  a  cursory  grouping  of  the  occasions  upon 
which  it  is  recorded  that  our  Lord  used  the  word  itself. 
Upon  each  one  of  them  we  might  dwell,  for  all  contribute 
something  of  light  to  our  understanding  of  the  Lord's  con- 
ception of  the  power  of  Satan  ;  the  first  recognizing  the 
fact  that  he  is  the  instrument  for  tempting  the  soul  of  a 
man  ;  the  second  realizing  the  unity  of  Satan's  kingdom  in 
its  attack  upon  the  purposes  of  God ;  the  third  realizing 
his  constant  activity  with  regard  to  the  proclamation  of  the 
Divine  revelation,  that  wherever  possible  he  it  is  who  steals 
away  from  the  heart  of  a  man  the  Word  of  God  ;  the  fourth 
revealing  the  whole  inspiration  of  Satanic  method  in  the 
word  to  Peter,  "Thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God,  but 
the  things  of  men  "  ;  the  fifth,  putting  the  whole  story  of 
Satan  into  one  great  flash  of  light :  "  I  beheld,"  and  the 
word  beheld  is  a  very  striking  one ;  it  does  not  refer  to  the 
casual  sight  of  something  that  happened  ;  it  is  rather  a  word 
indicating  constant  watchfulness,  and  reveals  the  Lord's  at- 
titude towards  Satan.  Suggestively,  though  not  in  detailed 
unveiling,  that  is  the  history  of  the  genesis  and  consumma- 
tion of  evil  in  the  universe  of  God  ;  that  was  the  prima! 

*  Matt.  xvi.  23.  '  Ibid.,  xiii.    i6. 

'  Luke  X.  18.  Uid.^  xxii.  31. 


too  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

fall,  when  according  to  Milton,  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morn- 
ing,  fell  as  the  result  of  his  rebellion  against  the  government 
of  God.  Christ  said,  "  I  beheld  Satan  fallen,"  I  know  his 
history,  I  know  his  present  position,  I  know  the  ultimate 
issue  of  all  his  effort,  "  I  beheld  Satan,"  not  enthroned,  not 
winning  his  victory ;  not  triumphing,  but  fallen  as  light- 
ning from  heaven.  In  the  sixth  reference  there  is  one 
simple  incidental  revelation  of  the  strange  power  of  Satan 
over  physical  conditions  ;  Satan  had  bound  this  daughter  of 
Abraham  through  the  long  years ;  and  in  the  seventh  there 
is  a  wonderfully  illuminative  revelation  of  the  relation  of 
Satan  to  the  economy  of  God,  "  Satan  hath  obtained  you  by 
asking,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat  :  but  I  made  suppli- 
cation for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not."  Satan  is  seen  as 
compelled  to  the  ministry  of  sifting  the  men  of  faith  ;  but 
over  against  the  power  of  his  sifting  there  is  set  the  advo- 
cacy, the  intercession  of  the  Son  of  God  Himself;  and  He 
spoke  in  perfect  confidence  that  though  he  sift,  no  grain  of 
wheat  can  be  lost,  the  chafF  alone  goes.  The  prevailing 
intercession  of  the  Saviour  is  a  mightier  force  than  the  sift- 
ing of  the  foe. 

Of  course  this  is  only  to  touch  upon  some  of  the  great 
values  of  the  texts.  The  outstanding  references  to  Satan 
are  first  that  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  in  which  our  Lord  said, 
"  Thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God,  but  the  things  of 
men,"  revealing  the  very  inspiration  of  evil;  secondly  that 
in  which  He  said,  "  I  beheld  Satan  fallen  as  lightning  from 
heaven,"  and  thus  declared  His  own  attitude  towards  the 
enemy  ;  and  finally  that  in  which  He  said,  "  Satan  hath 
obtained  you  by  asking,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat." 

There  are  four  recorded  occasions  on  which  He  spoke 
of  this  being  as  "the  Devil."  In  His  explanation  of  the 
parable  of  the  sower  as  recorded  by  Luke,  He  said,  "  Then 
Cometh  the  deviU   and  taketh   away   the   word   from  their 


Satan  and  Demons  lOl 

heart."  '  When  He  repeated  the  parable,  according  to  Mat- 
thew, He  changed  the  word,  and  spoke  of  "  the  evil  one." 
In  Matthew's  account  of  the  explanation  of  the  parable  of 
the  tares,  or  (he  darnel.  He  said,  "  The  enemy  that  sowed 
them*  is  the  devil.'''  ^  In  His  condemnation  of  His  critics,  as 
recorded  by  John,  He  used  the  name  :  "  Ye  are  of  your 
father  the  deviV  \^  and  in  that  connection,  remember  what 
we  attempted  to  insist  upon  when  considering  His  teaching 
concerning  God,  that  the  word  "  father  "  does  not  essentially 
mean  progenitor. 

The  real  thought  of  "  father  "  has  nothing  in  it  that  sug- 
gests the  origin  of  being  ;  it  is  the  word  that  suggests  care, 
watchfulness,  attention  ;  and  the  terrible  thought  of  this  pas- 
sage therefore  is  that  these  men  were  under  the  care,  the 
watchfulness,  the  attention  of  the  devil ;  and  if  those  sacred 
words,  care  and  watchfulness  and  attention,  seem  out  of 
place  in  that  connection,  I  use  them  deliberately,  for  the  reve- 
lation of  Scripture  is  that  of  the  appalling  persistence  with 
which  the  devil  will  attempt  to  encompass  the  ruin  of  a  soul, 
and  the  wreckage  of  society.  In  the  foretelling  of  the  doom 
of  Satan  and  his  angels.  He  spoke  of  an  "  age-abiding  fire 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  *  Once  He  used  the 
word  of  a  man,  when  He  definitely  and  distinctly  and  em- 
phatically declared  of  Judas,  "  One  of  you  is  a  devil.^*  *  It 
is  the  only  occasion  when  He  said  "  a  devil."  In  every 
other  case  He  employed  the  definite  article  ;  but  He  spoke 
of  Judas  as  being  "  a  devil,"  a  false  accuser,  a  traducer. 

In  connection  with  His  conflict  with  the  Pharisees,  He 
twice  used  the  word  Beelzebub,  quoting  it  to  His  disciples 
when  He  said,  "  If  they  have  called  the  master  of  the  house 
Beelxehuh.^  how  much  more  shall  they  call  them  of  his 
household  ?"  ^  and  quoting  it  again  when  speaking  to  the 

1  Luke  viii.  12.  '  John  viii.  44.  "^  John  vi.  70. 

*  Matt.  xiii.  39.  *  Matt.  xxv.  41.  «  Matt.  x.  25. 


102  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Pharisees,  He  said,  "  If  I  by  Beehebub  cast  out  demons,  b)i 
whom  do  your  sons  cast  them  out  ?  "  * 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  definmg  terms  of  which  He  made 
use.  These  are  found  in  the  course  of  His  teaching,  and 
in  each  case  must  be  interpreted  by  the  context.  I  group 
them  by  the  suggestiveness  of  the  context.  He  used  two 
terms  to  define  Satan  in  relation  to  the  Kingdom  of  God ; 
two  to  define  him  in  his  relation  to  human  character ;  and 
one  to  define  him  in  his  relation  to  Himself. 

When  dealing  with  the  relation  of  Satan  to  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  and  its  establishment  in  the  world,  He  used  the 
terms  :  "  the  evil  one^'*  and  "  the  enemy.'*  "  The  evil  one  *' 
is  sometimes  rendered  "  the  evil.'*  In  the  Revised  Version 
the  final  petition  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  made  to  read,  "  Lead 
us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one'*; 
the  word  one  is  italicized,  signifying  that  it  does  "  not  appear 
to  be  necessarily  involved  in  the  Greek"  (Reviser's  Preface). 
We  still  recite  it,  "  Deliver  us  from  evil,"  and  I  prefer  that 
form  of  recitation  because  I  think  the  petition  includes  the 
evil  one,  and  all  the  results  of  his  activity.  But  the  impli- 
cation is  that  we  are  delivered  from  the  evils  which  result 
from  the  work  of  "  the  evil  one.'* 

When  Jesus  was  explaining  the  parables  of  the  sower  and 
the  tares  He  said  respectively,  "  Then  cometh  the  evil  one^ 
and  snatcheth  away  that  which  hath  been  sown  ";  ^  and, 
"  the  tares  are  the  sons  of  the  evil  oneJ"  * 

Thus  the  term,  "  the  evil  one,"  suggests  that  Satan  is  the 
origin,  the  fountainhead  of  evil ;  and  our  Lord  employed 
it  when  dealing  with  His  relation  to  the  Kingdom.  The 
supreme  passion  of  the  heart  of  the  Master  was  that  of  the 
establishment  of  God*s  Kingdom.  Wherever  He  looked 
He  saw  the  multitudes  without  a  shepherd,  and  was  moved 

*Matt.  xii.  27.  ^ Ibid.,  xiii.  19. 

'  Ibid.^  vi.  13.  *  lbid.»  xiiL^-^S. 


Satan  and  Demons 


103 


with  compassion.  He  saw  wounds  and  weariness  and  want 
and  woe,  and  His  heart  was  filled  with  pain;  and  through 
the  chaos  He  saw  the  cosmos  ;  through  the  disorder,  the 
order  of  the  Kingdom;  and  His  whole  work  was  directed 
towards  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the 
world.  On  the  other  hand  the  evil  one  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  attempting  to  prevent  that  consummation  ;  sowing 
darnel  where  the  Master  sowed  the  wheat. 

"  The  enemy  "  means,  quite  literally,  the  hater,  and  there- 
fore the  one  hostile  to  every  purpose  of  beneficence  and  of 
love.  In  explanation  of  the  parable  of  the  tares,  the  Lord 
said,  "  the  enemy  that  sowed  them  is  the  devil  "  ;  and  in  His 
address  to  the  Seventy,  "  I  have  given  you  authority  over 
all  the  power  of  the  enemy." 

Thus  when  our  Lord  was  speaking  of  His  Kingdom, 
teaching  men  to  pray  for  its  establishment,  declaring  the 
method  by  which  the  Kingdom  purpose  would  be  carried 
through  a  particular  dispensation.  He  referred  to  Satan  as 
"  the  evil  one"  the  origin  of  the  things  that  hindered ;  and 
"  the  enemy"  the  one  who  opposes  the  progress  of  the  King. 
The  terms  of  which  He  made  use,  when  showing  the  re- 
lation of  the  devil  to  human  character,  are  found  in  the 
Gospel  of  John.  Speaking  to  men  who  were  opposed  to 
Him,  who  were  criticizing  Him,  who  were  willfully  blinding 
their  eyes  to  His  work  and  His  word.  He  told  them  they 
were  of  their  father  the  devil,  and  used  two  terms  to  de- 
scribe him,  as  He  said  "  He  was  a  murderer"  quite  literally, 
a  manslayer ;  and  "  he  is  a  liar"  quite  literally,  a  teller  of 
the  untruth,  the  falsifier  of  that  which  is  true.  Thus  in  the 
matter  of  the  relation  of  this  personality  to  human  character 
two  terrible  facts  are  revealed  ;  his  aim  is  the  destruction 
of  man,  and  his  method  is  the  falsifying  of  truth. 

Our  Lord  made  use  of  one  term  only  in  describing  the  re- 
lation of  this  person  to  Himself:  ^'' the  prince  of  this  world. *^ 


104  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

It  is  to  be  carefully  noted  that  the  Greek  word  here  trans- 
lated prince  is  archon^  and  not  archegos,  Archon  means  simpl)! 
a  ruler,  and  was  the  common  word  used  of  the  rulers  of  the 
people.  Archegos  is  never  used  in  the  New  Testament  of 
any  person  save  the  Lord  Himself.  It  means  the  file-leader, 
the  first  in  order,  the  true  and  ultimate  Prince.  That  word 
is  retained  for  Christ  Himself,  not  by  collusion  between 
the  writers,  but  by  the  overruling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

When  Jesus  spoke  of  Satan  as  the  prince,  the  ruler  of  this 
world,  it  was  always  in  connection  with  something  He  was 
saying  of  Himself.  There  are  only  three  recorded  occasions, 
and  they  all  were  when  the  shadow  of  the  Cross  was  rest- 
ing upon  Him  ;  when  He  was  coming  very  near  to  what 
Russell  Lowell  so  wonderfully  described  as  the 

"...     death  grapple  in  the  darkness 
'Twixt  old  systems  and  the  Word  :  " 

when, — to  use  the  language  of  man,  and  the  measurements 
of  time, — He  was  coming  to  the  very  hour  of  His  conflict, 
that  final  conflict  between  the  Prince  of  life  and  the  prince 
of  evil.  Then  He  used  the  term,  "  the  prince  of  this  world.^* 
"  Now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out.'*  * 
"  The  prince  of  the  world  cometh  :  and  he  hath  nothing  in 
Me."  ^ 

"  The  prince  of  this  world  hath  been  judged."  ' 
There  are  expositors  who  suggest  that  our  Lord  there  used 
a  designation  which  has  reference  to  the  primal  creation  of 
Satan,  and  I  believe  that  to  be  true.  When  we  know  the 
whole  story,  we  shall  probably  find  that  the  first  habitation 
of  Satan  was  this  world ;  that  the  prince  of  the  creation 
described  in  the  first  verse  of  Genesis  was  Lucifer,  this 
very  Satan ;  and  that  he  fell  in  that  relation.  By  the  use  of 
this  term  our  Lord  was  going  back  to  that  earliest  fact 
*  John  xii.  31.  ^  Ibid.,xvv.  30.  ^  Ibid.,  xvi.  II. 


Satan  and  Demons  105 

Satan  was  "  the  prince  of  this  world,"  the  one  whose  realm 
in  the  Divine  economy  was  this  world  ;  and  that  partially 
explains  for  me  his  attack  upon  the  parents  of  the  race, 
whose  mission  in  the  Divine  economy  was  connected  with 
restoration. 

It  is  sufficient  however  for  us  to  observe  this  description 
of  him,  in  his  relation  to  the  Lord  Himself.  John  declared 
that  "  the  whole  world  lieth  in  the  evil  one."  This  is  a 
picture  of  Satan's  mastery  of  men,  who  have  become 
materialized. 

We  must  not  however  leave  that  descriptive  term  in  the 
shadows  that  reveal  the  power  of  Satan  ;  but  rather  in  the 
light  that  reveals  the  mastery  of  our  Lord.  "  Now  shall  the 
prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out";  "  He  hath  nothing  in 
Me  "  J  and,  "  the  prince  of  this  world  hath  been  judged." 
The  Lord  always  used  the  term  in  order  to  show  that  the 
sceptre  is  taken  from  the  grasp  of  Satan,  and  held  in  His 
own  right  hand. 

Beyond  this  recognition  and  revelation  of  one  ruling  per- 
sonality of  evil,  there  is  to  be  found  in  the  teaching  of  the 
Lord  a  constant  recognition  of  multitudes  of  evil  beings,  all 
acting  under  the  direction  of  this  one  ruler.  We  shall 
examine  that  teaching  by  considering  the  common  name 
used  for  these  beings,  and  two  defining  terms. 

The  common  name  is  "  demons."  Endless  confusion  has 
been  caused  in  our  English  versions,  both  Authorized  and 
Revised,  by  failure  to  distinguish  in  translation  between  devils 
and  demons.  In  the  Authorized  Version  the  distinction  is 
not  made  at  all ;  and  the  Revisers  perpetuated  the  blunder, 
in  spite  of  the  strong  protest  of  the  American  Committee. 
In  the  American  Revision  the  distinction  is  carefully  and 
consistently  made.  Rotherham  makes  the  distinction,  and 
so  also  does  Weymouth.  If  we  lose  sight  of  this  distinc- 
tion we  cannot  understand  the  teaching  of  our  Lord. 


lo6  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

The  word  demon  is  but  the  Anglicized  form  of  the  Greek 
word.  Its  derivation  is  very  uncertain.  Perhaps  it  comes 
from  a  root  meaning  to  distribute  j  and  if  so,  the  idea  has 
come  from  the  Greek  conception  of  the  demon  as  being  a 
tutelary  deity,  that  is,  one  who,  being  intermediate  between 
the  sons  of  men  and  the  final  gods,  distributed  the  gifts  of 
the  gods  to  men.  Perhaps  it  comes  from  a  root  meaning 
wise,  or  knowing,  and  Socrates  strongly  held  that  to  be  the 
meaning  of  the  word,  and  that  the  demons  were  wise  ones, 
or  knowing  ones.  If  we  try  to  finc^  out  what  the  word  sug- 
gests, not  by  its  root  meaning,  but  by  its  use  in  classical 
Greek,  we  are  still  in  the  presence  of  great  difficulty  ;  and 
yet  such  an  attempt  will  lead  us  to  the  light  which  I  think  is 
to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament. 

Hesiod  distinctly  declared  that  the  demons  were  the  spirits 
of  the  men  of  the  golden  age,  who  had  become  mediators 
between  the  gods  and  the  sons  of  men.  Homer  spoke  ol 
the  demons  almost  invariably  in  a  bad  sense. 

Hesiod's  references  to  demons  suggested  that  their  in- 
fluence on  human  life  was  entirely  beneficent.  Homer 
sometimes  admits  that  also,  but  the  prevailing  use  of  the 
word  in  his  writings  suggests  that  their  influence  was  evil. 

In  the  writings  of  Empedocles  we  find  that  he  thought  of 
the  influence  of  the  demon  as  sometimes  good  and  some- 
times bad. 

Christian  writers,  both  those  of  the  New  Testament  and 
the  great  fathers  of  the  Church,  denied  the  intermediation  of 
spirits  or  angels  between  men  and  God.  The  great  Christian 
conception  was  that  every  man  had  right  of  access  to  God, 
and  needed  no  such  mediation.  This  explains  Paul's  strong 
protest  against  voluntary  humility,  and  worshipping  of  angels. 
Christian  teachers  looked  upon  demons  as  wholly  bad. 

In  the  New  Testament  the  word  demons  is  always  used 
in   an   evil   sense  by  Christian  writers  and  speakeis;  and 


Satan  and  Demons  107 

whereas  the  Greek  idea,  according  to  Hesiod,  was  that 
demons  were  the  spirits  of  the  men  of  the  Golden  Age,  the 
New  Testament  teaches  that  they  are  angelic  spirits  who  have 
lost  their  first  estate,  and  fallen  from  their  first  habitation. 

May  not  these  myths  and  legends  of  a  Golden  Age  have 
this  element  of  truth,  that  they  refer  to  that  age  of  the  earth 
before  the  catastrophe,  when  angels  were  the  inhabitants  ; 
and  because  they  kept  not  their  first  estate,  were  cast  down 
from  their  proper  habitation.  We  may  find  very  much  of 
light  in  what  we  call  paganism,  in  proportion  as  we  under- 
stand that  God  has  never  wholly  abandoned  man  to  dark- 
ness in  the  midst  of  probationary  life. 

A  reference  to  dispossession  is  the  only  kind  recorded  from 
ihe  lips  of  our  Lord  respecting  demons.  There  are  two  ex- 
ceptions :  first  when  He  quoted  the  opinion  of  the  multitude 
concerning  John,  "  He  hath  a  demon  "  ;  and  secondly  the 
declaration  He  made  concerning  Himself, "  I  have  not  a  de- 
mon." These  are  the  only  exceptions  to  the  rule  laid  down, 
that  whenever  He  spoke  of  demons  it  was  in  connection  with 
exorcism.  The  only  relation  He  had  with  this  under-world  of 
evil  beings  was  that  of  conflict  with  them,  freeing  men  from 
their  power,  and  casting  out  those  that  possessed  humanity. 

There  are  two  defining  terms  of  which  He  made  use  in 
connection  with  demons.  He  called  them  spirits.  In  de- 
scribing the  condition  of  a  man  from  whom  they  were  cast 
out.  He  said  "  the  unclean  spirit^  when  he  is  gone  out  of  the 
man,  passeth  through  waterless  places,  seeking  rest,  and 
finding  it  not."  '  In  addressing  them  He  said, "  Come  forth, 
«-hou  unclean  spirit  "  ;  "  Thou  dumb  and  deaf  spirit^  I  com- 
mand thee,  come  out  of  him."  In  speaking  of  the  rejoicing 
of  the  Seventy,  He  said,  "  In  this  rejoice  not ;  that  the 
spirits  are  subject  unto  you."  In  that  word  there  is  a 
revelation  of  the  nature  of  these  fallen  ones. 
*  Matt.  xii.  43-45. 


lo8  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

In  the  last  mention  He  made  of  them,  in  the  great  proph- 
ecy of  His  ultimate  victory,  as  recorded  by  Matthew,  He 
called  them  angels,  messengers ;  and  revealed  the  fact  that 
they  were  under  the  authority  of  Satan  in  the  words  "  age- 
abiding  fire,  reserved  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.**' 

This  teaching  reveals  our  enemies  in  the  spiritual  world, 
as  it  sets  before  us  the  fact  of  one  personality,  the  archon^ 
the  ruler,  who  is  prince  of  this  world  ;  and  reveals  to  us 
multitudes  of  spiritual  beings  under  his  control,  following  his 
command,  cooperating  with  him  in  a  persistent  fight  against 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  against  righteousness,  and  holiness,  and 
love.  It  is  this  unveiling  which  most  evidently  was  in  the 
mind  of  the  apostle  when  he  said,  "  Our  wrestling  is  not 
against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  the  principalities,  against 
the  powers,  against  the  world-rulers  of  this  darkness,  against 
the  spiritual  hosts  of  wickedness  in  the  heavenly  places.'*^ 

But  this  teaching  reveals  something  more,  and  it  is  the 
something  more  which  comes  to  the  heart  as  a  message  of 
hope  and  of  courage.  If  there  were  nothing  but  this  un- 
veiling of  these  hosts  of  wickedness,  how  we  should  be  filled 
with  fear.  But  the  teaching  reveals  the  Master  as  perfectly 
knowing  them,  persistently  opposing  them,  and  constantly 
triumphing  over  them.  In  the  days  of  His  flesh,  after  that 
hour  of  supreme  temptation  as  a  man  in  the  wilderness,  we 
never  find  our  Lord  entering  into  any  discussion  with  evil 
spirits,  but  always  addressing  them  in  terms  of  perfect 
mastery  and  perfect  command;  triumphing  over  them 
through  all  the  pathway  of  His  teaching,  until  at  last  He 
triumphed  over  them  in  His  Cross,  putting  them  off  from 
Him,  making  a  show  of  them  openly  in  the  universe  of  God. 

Therefore  we  fight  under  a  Master  Who  has  perfectly 
won  the  victory,  and  under  Whose  control  we  also  may  be 
more  than  conquerors. 

1  M?'tt  rxy.  41.  '  Eph.  vi.  12. 


VI.    MAN 


**  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word 

that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God." 

"  Again  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God." 

"  It  is  written.  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only 

shalt  thou  serve." — Matthew  iv.  4,  7,  10. 

"  The  lamp  of  the  body  is  the  eye  :  if  therefore  thine  eye  be  single,  thy 
whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light.  But  if  thine  eye  be  evil,  thy  whole  body 
shall  be  full  of  darkness.  If  therefore  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness, 
how  great  is  the  darkness  !  No  n\an  can  serve  two  masters :  for  either  he 
will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  one,  anc* 
despise  the  other.     Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon." — vi.  22-24. 

"  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  give  good  things  to 
them  that  ask  Him  ?  " — vii.  11. 

"  And  be  not  afraid  of  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill 
the  soul :  but  rather  fear  Him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body 
in  hell."— X.  28. 

"  Not  that  which  entereth  Sinto  the  mouth  denleth  the  man ;  but  that 
which  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth,  this  defileth  the  man.  .  .  .  Per- 
ceive ye  not,  that  whatsoever  goeth  into  the  mouth  passeth  into  the  belly, 
and  is  cast  out  into  the  draught  ?  But  the  things  which  proceed  out  of  the 
mouth  come  forlh  out  of  the  heart;  and  they  defile  the  man.  For  out  of 
the  heart  come  forth  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts, 
false  witness,  railings:  these  are  the  things  which  defile  the  man:  but  to 
eat  with  unwashen  hands  defileth  not  the  man." — xv.  //,  iy-20. 

"  For  what  shall  a  man  be  profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world, 
and  forfeit  his  life  ?  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  life  ?  " 
— xvi.  26. 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  heaven." — xviii.  3. 

"  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob.     God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living." — xxii.  32. 

"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  great  and  first  commandment. 
And  a  second  like  unto  it  is  this.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 
On  these  two  commandments  hangeth  the  whole  law,  and  the  prophets." 
—xxii.  37-40. 


"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  anew,  he  cannot 
see  the  Kingdom  of  God.  .  .  .  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except 
a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom 
of  God." — John  tit.  j,  5. 

"  No  man  can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Father  which  sent  Me  draw 
him :  and  I  will  raise  him  up  in  the  last  day.  It  is  written  in  the  prophets, 
And  they  shall  all  be  taught  of  God.  Every  one  that  hath  heard  from  the 
Father,  and  hath  learned,  cometh  unto  Me.  .  .  .  And  He  said,  For 
this  cause  have  I  said  unto  you,  that  no  man  can  come  unto  Me,  except  it 
be  given  unto  him  of  the  Father." — vi.  44,  4^,  6j. 


VJ 

MAN 

"  The  Word  became  flesh,"  '  to  declare  the  Father  and 
to  manifest  man.  These  are  John's  own  words.  The 
prologue  to  his  Gospel  concludes  with  this  statement :  "  No 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only-begotten  Son, 
which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared 
Him."^  The  introduction  to  his  first  epistle  affirms  that 
"  the  Life  was  manifested^^  ^  in  that  which  the  disciples  saw 
with  their  eyes,  beheld,  and  which  their  hands  handled. 
Thus  in  the  one  Person,  we  hear  the  full  and  final  declara- 
tion of  God  ;  and  see  the  manifestation  of  man,  according 
to  the  will  of  God. 

By  His  persistent  use  of  the  title,  "  Son  of  Man,"  for 
Himself,  our  Lord  marked  His  identification  with  humanity, 
and  suggested  the  truth  that  the  final  understanding  of  hu- 
man nature  must  result  from  a  knowledge  of  Himself.  In 
considering  His  teaching  about  God,  we  declared  that  the 
final  teaching  is  not  to  be  found  in  His  words,  but  in  Him- 
self as  the  Word.  So  here,  also.  His  final  teaching  about 
man  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  words,  but  in  Himself,  as 
the  Word   made   flesh.     We   sing  with  perfect  accuracy, 

"  Would  we  view  God's  brightest  glory. 
We  must  look  in  Jesu*s  face." 

We  may  sing  with  equal  accuracy, 

"  Would  we  know  man's  highest  glory. 
We  must  look  in  Jesu's  face." 

» John  i.  14.  « Ibid.,  i.  18.  ^  i  John  i.  2. 

"3 


1 14  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Turning  now  to  the  actual  words  of  the  Master  concern- 
ing man,  we  at  once  recognize  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which 
everything  He  said  has  a  bearing  on  our  subject,  because 
His  mission  in  the  world  as  the  Sent  of  the  Father  had  to 
do  with  man  primarily,  and  fundamentally  j  though  its  ulti- 
mate meaning  could  not  be  measured.  The  words  of  Jesus 
then,  now  under  consideration,  are  only  those  which  reveal 
His  conception  of  human  nature,  and  these  fall  into  two 
groups  :  first,  those  which  reveal  man  ideally,  or  essentially, 
that  is,  according  to  a  Divine  purpose  ;  and  secondly,  those 
revealing  man  actually  or  experimentally,  that  is,  as  Jesus 
found  him.  The  words  of  Jesus  which  reveal  His  view  of 
the  essential  facts  of  human  nature  are  taken  from  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew,  and  the  references  m  the  other  Gospels 
are  only  indicated  in  passing.  These  passages  follow  each 
other  In  consecutive  and  chronological  order,  and  throw  light 
upon  man  in  five  matters  :  first,  his  relation  to  God ; 
secondly,  the  unity  of  his  being  ;  thirdly,  the  inter-relation- 
ship  of  the  physical  and  the  spiritual ;  fourthly,  the  continuity 
of  personality  beyond  that  which  we  describe  as  death  ;  and 
finally,  the  perfect  law  of  probationary  life. 

His  teaching  as  to  the  relation  of  man  to  God  is  reveale<? 
most  remarkably  in  the  story  of  the  temptation.  The 
supreme  revelation  of  man  in  that  story  is  not  to  be  found  in 
anything  Jesus  said,  but  rather  in  the  Man  Himself.  W{ 
constantly  read  the  story  giving  our  attention  to  its  first  an^ 
preeminent  value,  that  namely  of  Its  revelation  of  tempta- 
tion, and  of  the  secret  of  victory  over  it.  While  that  is 
perfectly  natural,  and  accurate,  it  is  true  also  that  through 
the  mists  and  the  darkness  of  the  experience  of  temptation, 
forgetting  for  the  moment  as  far  as  possible  the  assault  upon 
the  soul  of  the  man,  we  have  a  revelation  of  the  essential 
facts  concerning  human  nature.  There  are  ways  in  which 
man  is  seen  more  clearly  in  that  wilderness  experience  thao 


Man  115 

on  any  other  page  in  the  New  Testament.  There,  while 
He  was  under  the  assault  of  the  foe,  the  essential  truth  con- 
cerning man  was  revealed.  The  first  temptation  was 
directed  against  the  physical  life  :  "  Command  that  these 
stones  become  bread.'*  *  The  second  temptation  was  directed 
against  the  spiritual  life  :  "  Cast  thyself  down  :  for  it  is  writ- 
ten, He  shall  give  His  angels  charge  concerning  thee."  * 
The  last  temptation  was  directed,  not  against  the  instrument 
in  itself,  but  against  the  vocation  :  "  All  these  " — the  king- 
doms of  the  world — "  will  I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down 
and  worship  me."  ^  There  is  man,  physical,  spiritual ;' the 
supreme  glory  and  meaning  of  his  existence  being  the  fact 
that  he  is  created  for  a  purpose. 

Looking  then  upon  that  remarkable  unveiling  of  truth 
concerning  humanity,  the  words  that  fell  from  the  lips  of 
this  Man,  as  He  answered  temptation,  constitute  a  clear 
revelation  of  His  conception  of  the  relation  of  man  to  God 
within  the  Divine  purpose  and  economy.  The  first  word 
"  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that 
proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God,"  ^  reveals  the  true 
sustenance  of  human  life.  The  second  word  "  Thou  shalt 
not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God,'"^  while  a  negative  one,  re- 
veals positively  the  true  principle  of  human  life.  The  final 
word,  "  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him 
only  shalt  thou  serve,"  ^  reveals  the  true  object  of  human  life. 

The  word  as  to  the  sustenance  of  life  was  spoken  in  an- 
swer to  the  temptation  against  the  physical.  The  suggestion 
of  evil  is  that  all  a  man  needs  for  the  sustenance  of  his  life 
is  bread  ;  that  a  man  is  material  only ;  that  if  there  be  phys- 
ical hunger  unmet  and  unsatisfied,  the  man  will  perish.  The 
answer  of  the  perfect  man  is  that  in  these  matters  also  the 
spiritualJs  supreme.     If,,  in  obedience  to  the  Word  of  God, 

»  Matt.  iv.  3.  3  jii^^^  iy_  ^  6  ibid.^  iv.  7. 

'  Ibid.t  iv.  6.  *  Ibid,  iv.  4.  «  Ibid,.,  iv.  10. 


Ii6  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

the  material  must  suffer  hunger,  then  the  true  sustenance  of 
life  is  that  of  the  spiritual  by  obedience  to  the  word  or  will 
of  God.  What  a  revolution  would  be  wrought  in  our  lives 
if  we  once  grasped  that  tremendous  conception  of  our  hu- 
manity ;  that  a  man  is  to  live  by  the  Word  of  God,  obey  the 
Word  of  God,  conform  his  life  to  the  Divine  purpose,  rec- 
ognize that  in  essence  he  is  not  dust  but  spirit ;  and  that 
the  supreme  fact  in  life  is  the  spiritual. 

In  the  second  word  "  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy 
God,"  we  have  a  revelation  of  the  true  principle  of  human 
life.  It  is  that  of  such  perfect  confidence  in  God  as  declines 
to  make  experiments  to  see  whether  He  will  take  care  of  a 
man  or  not.  The  temptation,  which  appeared  to  be  an  ap- 
peal to  the  highest  instinct  of  trust,  was  really  an  appeal  to 
doubt,  as  it  suggested  that  He  should  prove  His  faith  by  an 
unwarranted,  unordained  experiment.  The  answer  of 
Christ  .n  effect  was,  The  quiet  calm  of  My  confidence  in 
God  is  such  that  I  have  no  need  to  make  an  experiment  to 
prove  the  thing  I  know  to  be  true.  That  is  the  master- 
principle  of  life  ;  the  continuous  and  active  relationship  of 
confidence  in  God  which  enables  a  man  to  abide  quietly  in 
the  place  of  the  Divine  appointment. 

The  final  word,  "  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God, 
and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve,"  is  so  wonderful  that  if 
there  could  be  full  exposition  of  it,  it  would  be  seen  to  flame 
with  glory,  and  flash  with  splendour,  making  the  soul  burn 
with  all  high  enthusiasm,  and  capturing  the  imagination  of 
young  and  old  alike.  It  is  a  description  of  the  true  fulfill- 
ment of  the  meaning  of  every  human  life.  As  the  first 
speaks  of  the  immediate  and  central  relation  ;  and  the  second 
speaks  of  the  continuous  and  active  relation  ;  this  describes 
the  ultimate  and  glorious  relation  of  every  human  life  to 
God  :  "  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him 
only  shalt  thou  serve."     This  does  not  merely  mean, — and 


Man  ii? 

these  negative  expositions  seem  sometimes  out  of  place,  and 
yet   perhaps    are  important,— that  on  the  first  day   of  the 
week  we  are  to  assemble  together,  and  sing  His  praise,  and 
bow  before   Him   in  prayer ;  but  rather  that  the  whole  life 
shall  become  worship,  and  the  whole  life  shall  be  service. 
The  whole  life   is  worship   only  when   every  power  God 
created  is,  at  its  fullest  and  best,  open  to  Him  j  and  pouring 
itself  out  in  service  to  His  name.     Flowers  worship  God  in 
being  what  He  meant  them  to  be,  in  the  unfolding  of  their 
possibilities  of  life  ;  in  all  the  spiendour  and  delicate  perfec- 
tion of  their  being  they  utter  forth  His  praise,  and  serve  Him 
by  ministering  to  the  sense  of  beauty  which  He  has  placed 
within  the  heart  of  humanity.     How  then  is  man  to  worship 
God  and  serve  Him  ?     By  the  full  realization  of  life,  by  the 
discovery  of  all  the  powers  of  the  being  as  He  has  placed 
them  within  man's  personality  ;  and  by  the  development  of 
them  through  processes  of  training  and  exercise,  with  the 
will  always  set  in  the  direction  of  the  Divine  glory.     When 
this  is  done,  what  beauty  and  what  glory  result  !     The  song 
that  is  in  us  will  find  expression  ;  the  vision  that  we  have 
seen  will  be  reproduced  upon  the  canvas ;  the  music  that  we 
hear  will  be  repeated  that  other  men  may  hear  it ;  the  word 
that  burns  like  fire  will  be  uttered  that  other  men  may  be 
ennobled  by  it.     I  worship  when  I  preach.     You  worship 
when  you  paint,  when  you  follow  your  profession,  and  in  it 
abide  with  God.     It  is  the  fulfillment  of  life  to  glorify  God 
by  the  realization  of  all   His  great  and  gracious  purposes. 
What  a  vision  of  man  !     The  immediate  and  central  rela- 
tionship, living  by  the  word   of  God ;  the  continuous  and 
active  relationship,  confidence  and  perfect  peace  ;  the  ulti- 
mate and  glorious  relationship,  worshipping  Him  by  bemg 
what  He  made  him  to  be,  and  doing  what  He  meant  him  to  do !     / 

From  that  first  glance,  through  the  simplest  and  yet  sub- 
\imest  words,  we  turn  to  the  word  in  which  Jesus  revealed 


1 18  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

the  unity  of  man's  being.  He  said,  "  The  lamp  of  the  body 
is  the  eye :  if  therefore  thine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body 
shall  be  full  of  light.  But  if  thine  eye  be  evil,  thy  whole 
body  shall  be  full  of  darkness.  If  therefore  the  light  that 
is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  the  darkness ! "  ^ 

All  that  seems  to  have  very  little  connection  with  our 
theme ;  but  it  is  important  because  those  are  the  words  that 
prepare  for,  and  lead  up  to  these  :  "  No  man  can  serve  two 
masters :  for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other; 
or  else  he  will  hold  to  one,  and  despise  the  other.  Ye  can- 
not serve  God  and  mammon.*'  ^ 

In  the  words,  "  The  lamp  of  the  body  is  the  eye,"  the  eye 
is  used  figuratively  for  man's  outlook  upon  life ;  for  the  way 
in  which  a  man  sees  things  affects  the  way  in  which  he  acts, 
and  affects  therefore  the  very  nature  and  character  of  the 
man.  Closely  connected  with  that,  our  Lord  referred  to  the 
response  that  a  man  makes  to  his  outlook;  he  serves,  and  he 
serves  either  God  or  mammon.  Now  turning  from  the  di- 
rect teaching  of  these  words,  it  is  evident  that  our  Lord 
looked  upon  man  as  unified  within  his  own  personality. 

We  shall  turn  presently  to  another  Scripture  in  which  we 
shall  find  that  He  recognized  the  dual  fact  in  every  man's 
life ;  but  this  is  the  deeper  word.  This  was  spoken,  not  of 
a  man  as  one  of  a  fallen  race ;  but  of  a  man  according  to 
the  Divine  ideal.  Yes,  we  shall  meet  with  Dr.  Jekyll  and 
Mr.  Hyde  presently;  but  this  is  the  deeper  teaching,  and  in- 
volves the  fact  that  either  Dr.  Jekyll  or  Mr.  Hyde  becomes 
master;  that  ultimately  no  man  can  be  divided  within  him- 
self; that  in  the  processes  of  what  seem  to  be  conflicting 
forces  there  is  an  underlying  unity  of  personality  from  which 
no  man  can  escape.  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon." 
A  man  may  attempt  to  do  so  for  some  time.  It  may  seem 
as  though  he  were  doing  so,  but  all  the  while,  in  the  deepest 
*  Matt.  vi.  22-23.  '  /did.,  vi.  24. 


Man  119 

secret  shrine  of  sacred  and  awful  individuality,  either  the  serv- 
ice of  mammon,  or  the  service  of  God  is  hypocrisy;  that  there 
is  a  central  fact  in  human  personality  which  dominates  every- 
thing else,  and  which  presently  will  express  itself  through 
everything  else.  If  thine  eye  be  dark,  then  the  light  that 
is  in  thee  is  darkness.  If  thine  eye  be  single,  then  the  light 
that  is  in  thee  is  glorious.  Man  is  not  dual,  but  one;  and 
either  this  or  that,  commanding  him,  realizes  itself  within 
him ;  and  he  ultimately  partakes  of  the  nature  of  that  to 
which  he  yields  himself,  whether  God  or  mammon. 

Our  next  word  is  one  revealing  His  estimate  of  the  rela- 
tive values  of  the  physical  and  the  spiritual.  "  Be  not  afraid 
of  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul : 
but  rather  fear  Him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and 
body  in  Gehenna.'*  *  With  the  latter  part  of  that  statement 
we  are  not  now  dealing ;  for  we  are  considering,  not  the  full 
teaching  of  the  text,  but  its  implication. 

Fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill 
the  life.  We  at  once  see  how  revolutionary  that  word  is ! 
Men  live  to-day  as  though  the  killing  of  the  body  were  the 
supreme  and  most  awful  matter.  Christ  treats  it  as  an  inci- 
dent merely,  something  about  which  a  man  need  not  be  care- 
ful under  certain  circumstances.  "Be  not  afraid  of  them 
which  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no  more  they  can  do." ' 

Thus  at  once  we  see  His  estimate  of  the  relative  values 
of  the  physical  and  the  spiritual. 

There  are  two  other  words  of  our  Lord,  In  which  He  re- 
vealed the  same  principle  in  a  relative  application.  The  first 
is  that  solemn  enquiry,  "  What  shall  a  man  be  profited,  if 
he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  forfeit  his  life  ?  or  what  shall 
a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  life  ?  "  ^  This  clearly  reveals 
the  central  truth  of  His  conception,  that  life  is  not  ultimately 
physical ;  that  there  is  an  essential  life  to  which  the  whole 
»  Matt.  X.  28.  *  Luke  xii.  4.  »  Matt.  xvi.  26. 


1 20  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

material  worid  cannot  minister.  The  other  word  is  that 
which  Luke  alone  chronicled:  "A  man's  life  consisteth 
not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth."  ^ 

The  next  word  is  that  containing  His  teaching  concerning 
the  continuity  of  personality,  or  the  immortality  of  man. 
Speaking  in  answer  to  the  Sadducees,  who  had  asked  Him  a 
captious  question  concerning  resurrection,  He  quoted  the 
word  of  God  to  Moses,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the 
God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  ;  *'  and  continuing,  He 
affirmed,  "God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living."^ 

To  the  Sadducees  the  question  of  the  resurrection  of  a 
body  was  of  little  moment.  They  denied  the  immortality 
of  the  spirit,  and  therefore  our  Lord's  answer  to  them  went 
behind  their  question  as  to  bodily  resurrection,  and  dealt 
with  the  philosophy  which  prompted  it.  He  said  to  them 
in  effect,  The  question  you  ask  about  bodily  resurrection  is 
a  very  small  one  in  comparison  with  the  difficulty  you  raise 
concerning  the  spiritual  nature  of  man.  He  then  appealed 
to  their  Scriptures.  God  had  said  to  Moses,  when  commis- 
sioning him  for  his  great  work,  "  I  am  .  .  .  the  God 
of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob; "^  and 
at  that  time,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  were  dead,  their 
graves  being  known.  But,  said  Jesus,  "  God  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead."  They  were  even  then  alive.  God  is  the  God 
of  the  living.  By  that  word  He  affirmed  the  continuity  of 
human  personality  beyond  that  which  we  call  death,  and 
affirmed  that  of  which  we  sometimes  speak,  with  more  or 
less  of  accuracy,  as  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

The  final  word  in  this  first  group  is  that  in  which  He 
uttered  the  perfect  law  of  probationary  life;  and  this  again 
in  answer  to  a  questioner,  who  asked  which  was  the  greater 
commandment.  To  him  He  said,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
1  Luke  xii.  15.  '  Matt.  xxii.  32.  »  Exod.  iii.  6. 


Man  1 2 1 

with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  great  and  first  command- 
ment. And  a  second  like  unto  it  is  this,  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour  as  thyself.  On  these  two  commandments 
hangeth  the  whole  law,  and  the  prophets."  ' 

That,  Christ  said,  is  the  law  which  is  absolutely  sufficient 
for  man  in  his  probationary  life,  in  that  period  through 
which  he  must  pass  in  order  to  be  perfected  and  prepared 
for  the  larger  and  more  splendid  existence  that  lies  beyond 
the  present.  First,  he  must  love  God  ;  that  is,  there  must 
be  the  complete  response  of  all  his  being  to  God  as  God; 
and  in  that,  the  true  recognition  of  the  unity  of  his  own 
being,  and  the  unification  of  that  being  around  God.  The 
love  of  God  is  the  master-law  of  life.  In  Mark's  account 
of  this  incident  he  tells  us  that  Christ  introduced  that  word 
of  the  commandment  by  using  the  word  with  which  it  is  in- 
troduced in  the  Old  Testament  Scripture,  "  Hear,  O  Israel ; 
the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord."  Man  is  one,  essentially  ; 
and  his  unity  of  bemg  is  to  be  realized  and  maintained  by 
conformity  to  the  unity  of  Deity.  Then  man  must  love 
God.  The  second  part  of  this  law  is  the  sequence  of  the 
first,  the  proof  of  the  first,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself."  ^  In  the  love  of  God  there  is  the  unifica- 
tion of  self.  In  the  love  of  neighbour  there  is  the  expres- 
sion of  self  at  its  highest  and  best.  If  a  man  love  God,  he 
loves  his  neighbour,  and  cannot  help  it.  If  a  man  love 
God,  he  expresses  himself  in  his  love  to  his  neighbour,  and 
so  fulfills  the  full  and  perfect  law  of  life.  Our  Lord  carried 
out  this  thought  in  exposition  as  He  said,  "  On  these  two 
commandments  hangeth  the  whole  law,  and  the  prophets." 
So  that  if  this  human  being,  who  is  of  such  Divine  relation, 
and  of  such  unity,  and  in  whom  the  spiritual  is  the  supreme, 
and  who  persists  beyond  the  article  of  death  ;  if  he,  during 
the  period  of  probation,  loves  God,  and  loves  his  neighbour} 
1  Matt,  xxii.  37-40.  '  Mark  xii.  29,  31. 


122  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

there  is  no  law  that  he  will  break,  there  is  no  prophetic 
word  to  which  he  will  be  disobedient. 

The  references  to  man  according  to  human  experience 
are  briefer.  All  those  which  we  have  considered  may  be 
used  of  Jesus  Himself.  But  those  to  which  we  are  now 
about  to  refer  could  not  have  been  spoken  of  Him.  The 
other  references  dealt  with  essential  humanity.  These  deal 
with  humanity  as  He  found  it. 

The  first  to  which  I  refer  is  that  in  which  He  said,  "  If 
ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children."  '■  That  was  a  flash  of  light  upon  the  men  in  the 
midst  of  whom  He  stood.  Notice  carefully  the  two  things 
He  said  :  first,  "  being  evil  "  ;  and  secondly,  "  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  unto  your  children." 

The  phrase  "  being  evil "  described  an  influence  exerted, 
rather  than  a  condition ;  but  yet  it  postulated  a  condition. 
He  looked  at  these  men,  and  He  described  them  as  evil, 
men  exerting  an  evil  influence;  but  that  was  because  they 
were  evil  in  heart.  And  yet  He  said, — and  notice  this 
carefully, — that  they  "  knew  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto 
their  children  " ;  thus  recognizing  that  even  in  these  men, 
whom  He  described  as  evil,  there  persisted  a  capacity  for 
the  highest.  They  were  evil,  they  were  hurtful  and  harm- 
ful in  their  attitude  towards  men  ;  but  there  was  a  region  in 
their  consciousness  which  was  different.  Towards  their 
own  children  they  were  conscious  of  another  aspect  of  de- 
sire, intention,  and  influence.  They  would  give  good  gifts 
to  them.  Thus  our  Lord  recognized  that  in  the  men  who 
were  persecuting  Him  to  the  very  death,  there  was  this  duai 
fact;  evil  mastering  them,  and  yet  a  capacity  for  goodness 
that  was  demonstrated  and  expressed  in  the  very  love  they 
bore  to  their  children,  and  in  the  way  they  knew  how  to 
give  them  good  gifts.  This  man  of  evil,  watch  him  with 
»  Matt.  vii.  II. 


Man  123 

his  children !  His  goodness  to  his  child  does  not  change 
the  fact  of  his  evil  nature  and  influence ;  but  it  does  demon- 
strate a  capacity  for  the  highest.  Our  Lord  recognized 
these  two  things. 

Then  we  turn  to  that  terrible  word,  in  which  He  spoke 
of  the  defilement  of  human  nature,  "  Not  that  which  en- 
tereth  into  the  mouth  defileth  the  man  "  ' ;  and  the  point  of 
our  Lord's  teaching  is  not  that  a  man  is  defiled  by  the  things 
that  come  out  therefrom,  but  that  he  is  proved  defiled  by 
the  things  that  come  out  therefrom.  "  Evil  thoughts,  mur- 
ders, adulteries  ";  all  evil  things  proceeding  from  the  mouth, 
demonstrate  the  defilement  of  the  life  at  its  centre  and  core. 

It  was  in  view  of  these  conceptions  that  He  uttered  the 
word  to  His  own  disciples  about  entrance  to  the  Kingdom. 
When  they  asked  about  greatness  in  His  Kingdom,  He 
took  them  back  to  the  wicket  gate,  and  He  said,  "  Except 
ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  ^  In  view  of  these 
conceptions  He  declared  to  Nicodemus  the  necessity  for 
new  birth.^  In  the  one  case  He  indicated  a  human  respon- 
sibility, the  turning  back  to  childhood;  and  in  the  other 
case  He  indicated  a  Divine  action,  the  birth  anew  into 
childhood.  Standing  in  the  midst  of  humanity,  He  declared 
that  man,  although  of  such  wonderful  capacity  in  the  econ- 
omy of  God,  was  yet  of  such  defilement  in  the  actuality  of 
his  life,  that  there  was  no  hope  for  his  realization  of  the 
Divine  intention  save  by  the  mystic  touch  of  a  new  birth, 
and  the  communication  of  a  new  life. 

The  final  word  which  we  quote  concerning  man  was  that 
in  which  He  declared  the  opportunity  for  human  restora- 
tion. He  said,  "  No  man  can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Fa- 
ther which  sent  Me  draw  him,"  *  and  was  careful  to  explain 

>  Matt.  XV.  II,  17-20.  '  John  iii.  3,  5. 

>  Ibid.,  xviii.  3.  *  Ibid.^  vi.  44. 


124  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

that  every  man  is  drawn  of  the  Father  sooner  or  later  in 
some  way.  He  quoted  from  the  ancient  prophets,  saying, 
"  It  is  written  in  the  prophets,  And  they  shall  all  be  taught 
of  God."  *  When  we  turn  to  the  prophecies  in  Isaiah  and 
Jeremiah  from  which  He  quoted  these  words,  we  find  that 
in  each  case  the  declaration  was  made  when  the  prophet 
was  singing  of  the  restoration  of  the  lost  order,  "  And  all 
thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord  ;  and  great  shall 
be  the  peace  of  thy  children.*'^  Continuing,  our  Lord 
revealed  human  responsibility  in  the  words  "  Every  one  that 
hath  heard  from  the  Father,  and  hath  learned,  cometh  unto 
Me.'*  When  men  are  drawn  of  the  Father,  not  all  who 
hear  will  come  ;  but  all  who  hear  and  learn  will  come.  The 
movement  which  issues  in  the  restoration  of  a  man  from  his 
degradation  must  come  from  God,  and  from  Him  alone; 
but  every  man  is  so  appealed  to,  every  man  is  so  drawn  of 
the  Father  ;  and  human  responsibility  is  that  not  of  hearing 
alone,  but  of  learning,  and  obeying,  and  answering. 

This  meditation  reveals  the  splendour  of  humanity  ac- 
cording to  the  Divine  ideal  as  revealed  in  the  teaching  of 
Christ.  It  also  reveals  His  clear  understanding  of  the  calam- 
ity of  human  experience  as  He  faced  it.  But  finally  it  re- 
veals the  glory  of  the  possible  restoration  as  He  declared  it. 

If  we  set  our  lives  in  the  light  of  His  teaching,  we  shall 
think  highly  of  our  own  possibility  in  the  economy  of  God  ; 
we  shall  think  with  sorrow  and  contrition  of  all  our  failure 
m  the  light  of  the  high  ideal  ;  and  we  shall  think  with  hope 
of  the  possibility  of  restoration  by  the  way  of  His  great  and 
gracious  mission. 

'  John  vi.  45.  'Isa.  liv.  13.     Jer.  xxxi.  34. 


B.     THE  TEACHING  OF  CHRIST 
CONCERNING  SIN  AND  SALVATION 

I.    SIN 


"The  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins.*' — Matihete 
ix.6. 

«  Drink  ye  all  of  it ;  for  this  is  My  blood  of  the  covenant,  which  is  shed 
for  many  unto  remission  of  sins." — xxvi.  zy,  28. 


"  Whosoever  shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  never  for- 
giveness, but  is  guilty  of  an  eternal  sin." — Mark  Hi.  2g. 


"  Thus  it  is  written,  that  the  Christ  should  suffer,  and  rise  again  from 
the  dead  the  third  day ;  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should 
be  preached  in  His  name  unto  all  the  nations,  becrinning  from  Jerusalem." 
— Luke  XXIV.  46,  4y. 


«'  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  Every  one  that  committeth  sin  is  the 
bond-servant  of  sin." — John  viii.  34. 

"  If  ye  were  blind,  ye  would  have  no  sin  :  but  now  ye  say,  We  see : 
your  sin  remaineth." — ix.  41. 

"  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  unto  them,  they  had  not  had  sin  :  but 
now  they  have  no  excuse  for  their  sin.  He  that  hateth  Me  hateth  My 
Father  also.  If  I  had  not  done  among  them  the  works  which  none  other 
did,  they  had  not  had  sin  :  but  now  have  they  both  seen  and  hated  both 
Me  and  My  Father." — xv.  22-24. 

"  And  He,  when  He  is  come,  will  convict  the  world  in  respect  of  sin. 
,     .     .     Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  Me." — xvi.  8, 9. 


I 

SIN 

The  subject  of  sin  is  arresting,  absorbing,  and  abstruse 
In  the  broadest  sense  sin  may  be  defined  in  the  words  of 
Kant  as  that  which  ought  not  to  be. 

Dr.  Orr  opens  his  volume  on  "  Sin  as  a  Problem  of  To- 
day," with  an  illuminative  paragraph,  which  I  venture  to 
quote  : 

"  What  we  name  sin  is,  from  the  religious  point  of  view, 
he  tragedy  of  God's  universe.  What  it  is,  how  it  came, 
why  it  is  permitted  to  develop  itself  into  the  havoc  and  ruin 
it  surely  entails,  what  is  to  be  the  end  of  it,  above  all,  how 
its  presence  and  working  are  to  be  reconciled  with  goodness, 
holiness,  love,  in  the  God  Who  has  permitted  it — these  are 
the  crushing  questions  that  press  upon  the  spirit  of  every 
one  who  thinks  deeply  on  the  subject.  In  its  very  concep- 
tion sin  is  that  which  ought  not  to  be  ;  which  ought  never  to 
have  been.  How,  then,  or  why,  is  it  here,  this  awful,  glaring, 
deadly,  omnipresent  reality  in  human  history  and  experience  ? 
For  sin  ts  here  :  this,  conscience  and  universal  experience 
attest.  The  evidences  of  its  presence  are  not  slight  or  inter- 
mittent. Men  may  belittle  it,  try  to  forget  it,  treat  it  as  a 
superstition  or  disease  of  imagination — there  are  no  lack  of 
such  attempts  in  the  thinking  of  to-day — but  the  grim  reality 
asserts  itself  in  the  dullest  consciousness,  and  compels  ac- 
knowledgment of  its  existence  and  hateful  power.  Drug 
conscience  as  deeply  as  you  may,  a  time  comes  when  it 
awakes.  Turn  in  what  direction  one  will,  sin  confronts 
one  as  a  fact  in  human  life — an  experience  of  the  heart,  a 

127 


128  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

development  in  history,  a  crimson  thread  in  literature,  a 
problem  for  science,  an  enigma  for  philosophy." 

In  view  of  this,  we  turn  with  reverent  interest  and  ex- 
pectation to  the  teaching  of  Christ ;  and  recognize  at  once 
that  there  is  nothing  in  His  teaching  in  the  nature  of  an 
attempt  to  solve  for  us  such  problems  as  are  suggested  by 
the  paragraph  quoted.  Sent  of  the  Father,  He  came  into 
the  midst  of  conditions  which  He  recognized,  and  with 
which  He  proceeded  to  deal.  There  is  abounding  evidence 
in  these  Gospel  narratives  of  His  keen  and  clear  conscious- 
ness of  the  fact  of  sin.  It  is  equally  evident  that  the  deep- 
est meaning  of  His  presence  in  the  world  was  that  of  grap- 
pling with  this  fact  of  sin,  both  in  itself  and  in  its  results. 
As  in  previous  studies,  so  also  in  this,  even  in  the  absence 
of  clear  definition,  we  are  able  to  apprehend  His  conception 
of  the  subject  under  consideration  by  His  references  to  it. 
In  the  course  of  His  teaching,  moreover,  we  discover  certain 
outstanding  declarations  which  reveal  man*s  relation  to  sin, 
and  his  responsibility  concerning  it. 

Then  let  us  consider  first,  the  revelation  of  His  references 
to  this  fact  of  sin  ;  and  secondly  the  teaching  of  certain  out- 
standing declarations  which  enable  us  to  understand  our  re- 
lation to,  and  responsibility  concerning  sin. 

First,  then,  as  to  the  revelation  of  the  references.  There 
is  no  subject  for  which  the  Bible  uses  a  larger  number  of 
descriptive  terms  than  this  of  sin.  The  Old  Testament  has 
at  least  eleven  entirely  distinct  and  separate  words  by  which 
to  describe  it ;  and  of  these  words  Canon  Girdlestone  has 
said, "  The  pictorial  power  of  the  Hebrew  language  is  seldom 
exhibited  more  clearly  than  in  connection  with  the  various 
aspects  of  evil.  Every  word  is  a  piece  of  philosophy  ;  nay, 
it  is  a  revelation."  ' 

When  we  turn  to  the  New  Testament  we  find  an  equal 
1 «  Old  Testament  Synonyms,"  p.  76. 


Sin 


129 


number  of  words ;  indeed,  it  would  seem  as  though  every 
Hebrew  word  has  its  equivalent  in  the  Greek  language  of 
the  New  Testament;  and  of  this  fact  Canon  Girdlestone 
further  remarks,  "  With  regard  to  all  these  words,  it  is  to  be 
noticed  that  the  New  Testament  leans  upon  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  that  the  vivid  teaching  of  that  latter  is  taken  for 
granted  as  authoritative  by  the  writers  of  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tures." '  Approaching  the  study  of  these  words  of  the  New 
Testament,  Archbishop  Trench  declares,  "  A  mournfully 
numerous  group  of  words.  .  .  .  Nor  is  it  hard  to  see 
why.  For  sin  .  .  .  may  be  regarded  under  an  infinite 
number  of  aspects,  and  in  all  languages  has  been  so  regarded  ; 
and  as  the  diagnosis  of  it  belongs  most  of  all  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, nowhere  else  are  we  likely  to  find  it  contemplated  on 
so  many  sides,  set  forth  under  such  various  images."^ 

In  the  course  of  His  teaching  our  Lord  made  use  of 
seven  different  words  when  referring  to  sin ;  two  of  them 
constantly,  the  other  five  incidentally,  and  only  on  two  or 
three  occasions  in  each  case.  In  the  first  two  of  these  words 
we  discover  His  conception  of  the  essential  nature  of  sin ;  and 
in  the  other  five  we  have  revelation  of  certain  aspects  of  sin. 

But  our  words  are  inadequate,  and  constantly  cause  trouble 
in  our  thinking ;  and  a  criticism  like  that  is  warranted  by 
the  fact  that  the  one  so  criticizing  is  face  to  face  with  a 
difficulty.  We  speak  of  evil  and  take  up  our  Bible  and 
read,  "  I  " — the  Lord — "  create  evil  "  ;  ^  and  are  conscious 
almost  of  a  shock,  which  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  we  for- 
get that  the  word  evil  may  stand  for  a  great  deal  more  than 
is  intended  in  any  one  use  of  it.  That  may  be  the  reason 
for  the  variety  of  words  employed  in  the  Bible — at  least 
twenty-two  different  words,  eleven  in  each  language — and 

*  "  Old  Testament  Synonyms,"  p.  86. 

'  "  Synonyms  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  239,  240, 

•  Isa.  xlv.  7, 


130  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

of  the  fact  that  our  Lord  described  this  appalHng  and  awe- 
inspiring  fact  by  different  words,  two '  of  them  constantly 
recurring  in  the  course  of  His  ministry. 

The  first  is  poneros^  which  is  commonly  translated  evil. 
The  root  idea  of  the  word  is  that  which  is  hurtful.  The 
first  essential  meaning  of  the  root  from  which  the  word 
comes  is  that  of  pain  ;  and  the  word  itself  suggests  pain  and 
that  which  causes  pain  ;  that  is,  hurtful  or  harmful.  The 
use  of  the  word  has  reference  to  that  which  causes  trouble, 
and  to  the  trouble  which  is  caused.  It  describes  the  active 
principle  producing  all  calamity,  material,  mental,  and 
moral ;  and  it  is  also  used  of  the  calamity  which  is  thus 
produced.  In  the  case  of  the  statement  already  quoted, 
"  I '' — the  Lord — "  create  evil,"  we  should  be  more  accurate 
if  instead  of  the  word  evil  we  substituted  the  word  calamity  ; 
only  we  must  interpret  it  by  the  context,  which  shows  that 
it  refers  to  calamity  falling  upon  a  guilty  city.  It  is  simply 
a  declaration  of  the  sovereignty  of  Jehovah  over  the  work- 
ing of  evil,  so  that  it  must,  within  the  realm  of  the  Divine 
overruling  and  government,  issue  in  calamity. 

This  word  Christ  constantly  used,  certainly  over  forty 
times,  and  it  suggests  the  active  principle  which  produces 
calamity,  whether  material  or  mental  or  moral ;  and  refers 
to  the  calamity  so  caused.  When  we  group  the  occasions 
upon  which  our  Lord  is  recorded  to  have  used  the  word,  we 
find  that  He  used  it  as  descriptive  of  Satan,  of  demons,  of 
men  individually,  of  the  age  in  the  midst  of  which  He 
wrought  His  work  ;  and  upon  occasion,  in  the  abstract  sense. 
By  His  employment  of  this  word  certain  facts  are  made  per- 
fectly clear.  He  recognized  the  existence  of  a  force  con- 
trary to  the  good  and  perfect  and  acceptable  will  of  God. 
He  referred  to  this  force,  as  having  its  fountainhead  in  a 
person,  Satan.  He  recognized  that  other  spiritual  beings, 
that  man^  that  the  age  itself,  had  passed  under  the  influence 


Sin  131 

of  this  force,  and  were  mastered  by  it.  By  repeated  refer- 
ence He  made  clear  His  understanding  of  the  fact  that  this 
force  was  in  itself  corrupt,  and  in  its  influence  was  corrupt- 
ing ;  that  it  marred  the  handiwork  of  God,  prevented  the 
realization  of  His  purpose,  was  against  His  holiness,  and 
contrary  to  the  deepest  intentions  of  His  love.  He  gave  no 
single  word  of  explanation  as  to  the  genesis  of  this  force  in 
the  universe. 

The  second  term,  hamartia^  is  the  most  common  word  in 
the  New  Testament  for  sin  j  and  is  usually  so  translated. 
The  root  of  the  word  is  quite  uncertain.  There  are  two 
suggestions.  The  first  is  that  of  a  failure  to  grasp  ;  the 
second  that  of  missing  possession.  But  if  we  are  in  doubt  as 
to  the  root  signification  of  this  word  which  we  translate  by 
j/'w,  we  have  no  doubt  as  to  its  significance  as  we  observe  its 
use.  It  is  a  word  that  signifies  failure,  or  quite  simply,  the 
missing  of  a  mark.  In  material  things  the  word  is  used  in 
classic  Greek  of  the  missing  of  a  mark,  as  when  a  man  flings 
a  spear,  and  it  does  not  strike  its  intended  target.  In  the 
mental  realm,  with  regard  to  art,  music  and  literature,  the 
word  is  used  of  the  artist,  also  of  the  musician,  or  the  writer, 
who  fails  of  the  highest.  Gradually,  even  in  Greek  Htera- 
ture,  the  word  gained  a  moral  significance,  and  was  used  of 
the  man  whose  character  and  whose  conduct  were  lower 
than  the  highest.     The  idea  is  that  of  failure. 

This,  then,  was  a  common  Greek  word  which  New 
Testament  writers  appropriated,  and  used  only  in  the  moral 
sphere. 

The  Lord's  use  of  the  word  was  invariably  ethical,  and 
such  as  to  imply  responsibility.  There  is  not  a  single  in- 
stance in  which  our  Lord  made  use  of  this  word  so  as  to 
suggest  that  it  was  a  disease  apart  from  a  personal  and  imme- 
diate moral  responsibility.  And  another  matter  is  equally 
noticeable  and  is  full  of  gracious  light,  that  Christ's  principal 


132  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

use  of  the  word  was  in  connection  with  the  central  purpose 
of  His  mission,  that  of  forgiving  sin.  There  were  occa- 
sions when  He  used  the  term  apart  from  such  reference  ; 
but  in  the  majority  of  cases  His  references  to  sin  were  re- 
lated to  the  thought  of  forgiveness.  He  uttered  stern 
denunciation  of  those  who  refused  this  forgiveness  ;  but  in 
the  view  of  Christ,  sin  was  moral  failure  with  which  He  had 
power  to  deal,  so  as  to  forgive  the  sinner.  The  glory  of 
the  redemption  of  the  Cross  shines  through  the  references 
that  Christ  made  to  sin,  even  though  some  of  them  were  of 
the  nature  of  the  sternest  denunciation. 

From  this  survey  of  His  references  to  evil  and  sin  I  make 
these  brief  deductions.  Our  Lord's  outlook  upon  evil  was 
that  He  considered  it  to  be  a  principle  at  work  in  the  universe, 
antagonistic  to  God  and  to  goodness.  Sin,  according  to  the 
conception  of  Christ,  is  the  volitional  act  of  rebellion 
against  God  in  submission  to  this  principle  of  evil;  and 
consequently  it  is  failure,  the  missing  of  the  mark,  the  fall- 
ing short  of  the  highest. 

Now  for  a  brief  and  yet  more  hurried  glance  at  the  five 
other  words  of  which  our  Lord  made  use.  He  employed  a 
word,  paraptoma^  commonly  translated  trespass  in  our  New 
Testament.  It  describes  the  fact  of  falling  where  one 
ought  to  have  stood.  It  admits  the  possibility  of  the  fall 
being  non-volitional,  but  nevertheless  recognizes  it  as  a  fall. 
A  trespass  is  a  fall,  whether  the  man  intended  to  fall  or  not. 
It  is  failure  and  imperfection  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and  that 
is  why  the  saint  can  never  cease  using  the  prayer  for  for- 
giveness of  trespasses  to  the  end  of  the  pilgrimage.  I  may 
be  delivered  from  volitional  sinning,  but  in  the  light  of 
heaven's  unsullied  purity  there  is  no  hour  in  which  I  do  not 
come  short  of  the  highest ;  and  in  the  light  of  the  eternal 
holiness  I  am  a  trespasser,  and  need  the  infinite  grace  of 
His  mercy  and  His  forbearance. 


Sin  133 

Another  word,  anomia,  of  which  our  Lord  made  use  is 
commonly  translated  iniquity^  but  more  accurately  lawless- 
ness. It  does  not  describe  the  condition  of  a  man  who  has 
never  had  the  law,  but  rather  the  attitude  of  the  man  who 
refuses  to  obey  the  law.  In  the  use  of  that  word  our  Lord 
revealed  His  recognition  of  the  principle  upon  which  a  man 
acts  in  the  committal  of  sin.  Sin  is  a  missing  of  the  mark, 
a  failure,  and  it  is  iniquity  or  lawlessness  when  it  is  the  result 
of  refusal  to  walk  in  the  light,  and  to  obey  law.  Therein  is 
revealed  the  active  principle  of  sin  in  the  life  of  the  individ- 
ual, which  indicates  responsibility. 

Another  word,  iakia^  is  generally  rendered  malice.  To 
understand  this  translatiop  we  have  to  remember  how  con- 
stantly words  change  in  use ;  and  in  that  consideration  we 
see  the  necessity  for  passing  beyond  the  Authorized  Version 
to  the  Revised  Version,  and  presently  abandoning  the  Re- 
vised for  a  yet  more  modern  rendering.  Our  word  malice 
is  used  to-day  almost  exclusively  in  the  realm  of  emotional 
life.  But  the  first  meaning  of  malice  is  badness,  and  that 
is  the  suggestion  of  the  word  of  which  it  is  a  translation  in 
the  New  Testament.  The  Greek  word  so  translated  means 
badness,  whether  it  be  material,  mental,  or  moral.  It  is  a 
word  describing  evil  in  itself;  not  so  much  the  suffering 
produced,  but  the  principle  of  evil  which  results  in  suffering. 
It  is  a  searching  word.  Our  Lord  is  only  reported  to  have 
used  it  once,  and  that  in  somewhat  remarkable  application ; 
but  the  value  it  suggests  must  be  borne  in  mind  when  wc 
face  this  fact  of  sin  according  to  the  teaching  of  Christ. 

Another  word,  adikia^  is  commonly  translated  unrighteous^ 
ness.  It  literally  means  out  of  the  straight.  It  reveals  sin 
in  its  relation  to  holiness  and  righteousness  \  holiness  being 
rectitude  of  character,  and  righteousness  rectitude  of  con- 
duct. Sin  is  the  opposite  in  character,  and  in  conduct.  It 
is  life  and  activity  out  of  the  straight. 


134  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

One  other  word,  phaulos^  He  used,  only  once  or  twice, 
but  upon  supreme  occasions.  It  is  translated  evil^  and  yet 
it  is  a  word  with  which  we  have  not  already  dealt.  It  de- 
scribes the  condition  of  good-for- nothingness,  and  constitutes 
one  of  the  most  appalling  revelations  of  sin  and  evil.  It  is 
evil  as  that  out  of  which  good  can  never  come ;  and  thus 
the  word  reveals  the  unutterable  hopelessness  and  corrup- 
tion of  sin  in  itself. 

In  these  words  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
thought  of  Christ  about  evil  and  sin.  To  understand  that 
thought  we  need  to  turn  to  the  references  themselves  ;  and 
observe  our  Lord  in  the  midst  of  a  world  in  which  this 
principle  of  evil  was  at  work,  confronted  and  surrounded 
by  sinning  men  ;  we  need  to  hear  what  He  said  to  them, 
to  observe  His  method  with  them,  to  catch  these  words 
as  they  pass  His  lips.  Only  by  such  careful  consideration 
shall  we  be  able  to  discover  His  conception  of  evil,  and 
find  His  outlook  upon  sin.  He  has  given  us  no  explana- 
tion of  the  problem;  there  is  no  word  in  all  His  teaching 
which  declares  what  the  ultimate  is  to  be,  either  m  the  case  of 
the  individual,  or  in  the  case  of  the  race,  or  in  the  case  of  the 
universe.  He  uttered  great  words  that  show  results,  ha** 
vests,  and  inevitable  sequences;  and  words  which  reveal 
His  conception  of  the  appalling  nature  of  sin  and  evil.  To 
accept  His  view  as  revealed  in  these  words,  will  be  to  be 
delivered  from  any  superficial  thinking  about  sin  ;  and  will 
more  and  more  make  us  tremble  in  its  presence,  and  fear  it 
with  all  the  heart  and  soul  and  mind. 

We  pass  in  the  second  place  to  the  consideration  of  four 
declarations  He  made;  quite  simple,  and  vet  most  sublime; 
incidentally  uttered,  and  yet  bringing  men  face  to  face  with 
their  own  relation  to  sin,  and  demanding  our  careful  con- 
sideration. These  words  do  not  deal  with  evil  in  the  wider 
sense,  but  with  sin  in  human  life. 


Sin  135 

The  first  passages  contain  His  words  recognizing  the 
element  of  personal  responsibility  in  sin. 

For  example,  to  the  Pharisees : 

"If  ye  were  blind,  ye  would  have  no  sin:  but  now  ye 
say.  We  see;  your  sin  remaineth."  * 

Again,  not  to  the  Pharisees,  but  to  His  disciples  about 
the  Pharisees,  and  those  who  had  rejected  Him: 

"  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  unto  them,  they  had  not 
had  sin  ;  but  now  they  have  no  excuse  for  their  sin.  He  that 
hateth  Me  hateth  My  Father  also.  If  I  had  not  done  among 
them  the  works  which  none  other  did,  they  had  not  had  sin  ;  but 
now  have  they  both  seen  and  hated  both  Me  and  My  Father."  ^ 

Of  course  there  are  many  values  in  these  words  of  Christ 
with  which  we  are  not  now  dealing,  in  which  we  are  not 
now  interested.  We  take  them  now  simply  to  draw  atten- 
tion to  what  He  taught  concerning  the  element  of  responsi- 
bility in  sin.  He  declared  directly  to  the  Pharisees  that  sin 
is  disobedience  to  light.  He  declared  to  His  disciples  when 
interpreting  the  fact  of  sin  in  the  case  of  the  Pharisees  that 
He  Himself  had  come  into  the  world  as  light,  that  in  His 
presence  men  saw ;  and  that  sin  therefore  consisted  in  their 
disobedience  to  the  light  which  He  granted  them.  No 
man  can  believe  in  the  infallibility  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
and  declare  that  man  is  not  morally  responsible.  Christ 
declared  that  man  is  not  morally  responsible  if  he  has  had 
no  vision  ;  but  He  declared  that  the  moment  there  is  vision 
and  sight  and  understanding,  moral  responsibility  is  created ; 
that  such  a  man  stands  in  the  light,  in  the  presence  of  good 
and  of  evil,  and  his  sin  consists  in  his  refusal  to  answer  the 
sight  of  his  eyes  when  the  light  has  broken  upon  him.  We 
may  speak  of  degrees  of  light,  and  indeed  we  must  so  speak. 
To  imagine  that  vast  multitudes  of  the  heathen  are  to  be 
consigned  to  everlasting  punishment  because  they  have  not 
» John  ix.  41.  «  Ilfid.t  xv.  22-24. 


136  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

obeyed  the  Gospel  which  we  have  never  preached  to  them, 
is  blasphemy  of  the  worst  kind.  The  measure  of  heathen 
responsibility  is  the  measure  of  heathen  light.  Light  creates 
responsibility.     Sin  is  disobedience  to  light. 

The  next  passage  contains  His  words  revealing  the  ele- 
ment of  bondage  in  sin. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Every  one  that  com^ 
mitteth  sin  is  the  bond-servant  of  sin."  *  The  choice  creates 
the  compulsion.  A  man  stands,  seeing  clearly.  That  is 
his  opportunity.  If  he  disobey  the  light,  and  turn  to  the 
evil  thing,  then  that  evil  thing,  gaining  a  victory  over  him, 
becomes  his  master,  and  he  is  the  slave  of  that  which  he 
chooses.  There  is  no  need  for  illustration.  A  man  yielding 
to  some  vulgar  passion  becomes  the  slave  of  that  passion, 
and  no  matter  how  he  strive  he  cannot  break  its  power. 

The  next  passages  contain  His  words  of  warning  as  to  the 
element  of  fixity  in  sin. 

"Whosoever  shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Spirit 
hath  never  forgiveness,  but  is  guilty  of  an  eternal  sin."  ^ 

I  choose  for  definite  purposes  of  illumination  to  put  that 
passage  into  immediate  connection  with  another.  Our  Lord 
was  referring  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  He  said  : 

"And  He,  when  He  is  come,  will  convict  the  world  in 
respect  of  sin.  .  .  .  Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not 
on  Me."  3 

In  the  first  of  these  passages  our  Lord  warned  men  of 
the  tendency  of  sin  to  become  fixed.  It  is  a  terrible  word. 
It  is  not  strange  that  men  tremble  when  they  read  it. 
"  Whosoever  shall  blaspheme  against  the  Holy  Spirit  hath 
never  forgiveness,  but  is  guilty  "  of  perpetuity  of  sin,  fixitj 
in  sin,  age-abiding  sin.  The  men  to  whom  He  was  speak- 
ing at  the  moment  had  not  committed  that  sin.  He  saw 
that  they  were  in  danger  of  it,  for  they  were  attempting  t^o 
account    for   His   work   by  attributing   His   power  to   the 

*  John  viii.  34.  «  Mark  iii.  29.  '  John  xvi.  8,  9. 


Sin  137 

devil ;  and  in  a  flash  He  revealed  to  them  that  the  last 
method  of  God  lay  beyond  the  hour  of  His  own  ministry. 
He  said  in  effect,  You  can  say  anythin^!^'  against  Me,  and  it 
will  be  forgiven  you,  but  there  is  another  age  beyond  this,  that 
of  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit:  "He,  when  He  is  come, 
will  convict  the  world  in  respect  of  sin  '*  j  of  sin  because  they 
do  not  obey  the  light  of  My  presence.  If  you  refuse  that 
spiritual  interpretation  which  is  yet  to  come,  then  sin  will  be- 
come fixed,  an  age-abiding  sin  ;  and  an  age-abiding  sin  in- 
volves an  age-abiding  nemesis  and  punishment.  It  is  the  most 
awful  peril  of  sin  which  our  Lord  revealed  in  these  words. 

The  last  passages  to  be  quoted  contain  the  words  in 
which  He  declared  the  possibility  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin. 

The  first  is  : 

"  The  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins."  ^ 

He  had  pronounced  forgiveness  upon  a  man  who  was 
sick  of  the  palsy,  and  they  criticized  Him  and  said  that  He 
blasphemed  ;  to  which  He  replied,  "  Wherefore  think  ye  evil 
\n  your  hearts  ?  For  whether  is  easier,  to  say,  Thy  sins 
are  forgiven  ;  or  to  say.  Arise  and  walk  ?  But  that  ye  may 
know  that  the  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive 
sins  (then  saith  He  to  the  sick  of  the  palsy),  Arise,  and  take 
up  thy  bed,  and  go  unto  thy  house."  ^ 

This  is  a  wonderful  picture,  in  which  we  see  evil  in  the 
moral  and  material  realms,  the  suffering  resulting  from  the 
sin.  Christ  saw  the  connection.  Then  to  the  man  He 
said, "  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  *' ;  and  later,  "  Arise  and  walk." 
He  never  healed  bodily  affliction  save  upon  the  basis  of 
removing  spiritual  malady.  That  is  the  meaning  of  the 
great  utterance  in  which  Matthew  declared  that  when  He 
healed  all  that  were  sick.  He  did  so  in  fulfillment  of  the 
word  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  "  Himself  took  our  infirm;ties, 
and  bare  our  diseases."^  All  His  material  healing  was 
based  upon  His  ability  to  deal  with  the  spiritual  and  moral 
1  Matt.  ix.  6.  «  /did.,  ix.  4-6.  3  m^,^  viii.  17. 


138  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

malady  lying  behind  the  material  suffering.  That  was  the 
authority  to  which  He  referred  when  He  said,  "  The  Son  of 
Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins.'* 

The  next  passage  reads  : 

"  Drink  ye  all  of  it;  for  this  is  My  blood  of  the  cove- 
nant, which  is  shed  for  many  unto  remission  of  sins."  ' 

The  setting  of  these  words  is  perfectly  familiar  ;  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  paschal  board ;  the  institution  of  the  new 
memorial  feast  of  Christianity  ;  the  Lord  taking  the  fruit  of 
the  vine,  and  saying,  with  the  sacred  cup  in  His  hand, 
"  This  is  My  blood  of  the  covenant,  which  is  shed  for 
many  unto  remission  of  sins.'* 

The  final  word  was  spoken  after  the  Cross,  and  after  res- 
urrection : 

"  Thus  it  is  written,  that  the  Christ  should  suffer,  and  rise 
again  from  the  dead  the  third  day ;  and  that  repentance  and 
remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  His  name  unto  all 
the  nations,  beginning  from  Jerusalem."  ^ 

Now  mark  the  significance  of  these  three  words  of  Christ. 
First,  He  claimed  authority  to  forgive  sins;  secondly.  He 
revealed  His  way  of  forgiving  sins;  and  finally.  He  claimed 
the  accomplishment  of  His  work. 

This  then  is  the  ultimate  word  of  Christ  about  sin.  It  is 
a  word  that  declares  His  victory  over  it,  and  His  power  to 
forgive  it ;  and  that  by  the  way  of  a  Cross  that  defies  man's 
ability  to  explore  it  to  its  depths,  or  to  speak  the  final  word 
about  its  hidden  mystery  of  pain.  Thus  our  Lord  teaches 
us  the  awfulness  of  sin,  and  reveals  to  us  our  solemn  re- 
sponsibilities in  the  presence  of  the  evil  force  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  but  He  stands  in  the  midst  of  all  the  malady, — 
material,  mental,  and  moral, — and  claims  that  by  the  mys- 
tery of  His  Cross,  He  is  able  to  forgive  sin;  and  to  give  to 
every  man  the  new  opportunity  by  way  of  moral  recon- 
struction, which  shall  issue  in  the  full  realization  of  the 
good  and  perfect  and  acceptable  will  of  God. 

1  Matt.  xxvi.  27,  28.  '  Luke  xxiv.  46,  47. 


[I.     SALVATION 


« Is  it  lawful  on  the  Sabbath  to  do  good,  or  to  do  harm  ?  to  save  a  lifcj 
or  to  destroy  it  ?  " — Luke  vi.  g. 

"  Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee  ;  go  in  peace."— z/m.  JO. 

♦«  Daughter,  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole  ;  go  in  peace." — viii.  48. 

"  Fear  not;  only  believe,  and  she  shall  be  made  whole." — viii. ^o. 

"  Arise,  and  go  thy  way  :  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole." — xvii.  ig 

'*  Receive  thy  sight :  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole." — xviii.  42. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  came  to   seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."— 


II 

SALVATION 

The  title,  Saviour,  the  abstract  noun,  salvation,  and  the 
verb,  to  save,  have  gained  a  peculiar  sanctity  by  their 
Christian  associations.  These  words  have  a  common  origin, 
coming  to  us  from  the  Latin  salvus^  simply  signifying  safe. 
All  the  cognate  words  in  the  Latin  language  have  equivalents 
in  our  language,  of  which  we  are  perpetually  making  use 
In  the  realm  of  Christian  truth.  These  words  again  have 
their  exact  equivalents  in  the  language  of  which  our  New 
Testament  is  a  translation,  and  all  of  them  became  current 
coin   in  the  language  of  Christianity  at  a  very  early  period. 

The  words  Saviour^  salvation^  and  save^  are  found  in  the 
writings  of  every  one  of  the  New  Testament  authors.  In 
one  form  or  another  the  thought  runs  through  all  the  apos- 
tolic writings,  and  we  are  constantly  confron<"ed  in  our  read- 
ing of  the  New  Testament  with  the  theme  of  salvation. 

The  original  idea  conveyed  by  these  words  is  that  of  im- 
munity from  harm  or  danger.  The  verb  to  save,  however, 
has  acquired  a  new  sense  in  Christian  use.  In  ordinary 
use  the  verb  to  save  means  to  preserve  from  danger.  In 
the  Christian  sense  to  save  is  to  deliver  out  of  the  danger, 
and  to  rescue  from  all  the  harm  which  has  already  been 
wrought.  The  substantive  salvation  in  Christian  speech 
refers  at  once  to  the  activity  which  produces  such  safety, 
and  to  the  state  of  safety  which  results  from  that  activity. 
The  title  Saviour^  in  the  New  Testament,  and  in  the  sanc- 
tified and  intelligent  speech  of  the  Christian  Church  has 
been  reserved  for  the  One  Who  saves  in  this  great  sense. 

With  these  preliminary  and  technical  definitions  in  mind, 
141 


142  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

we  turn  to  a  consideration  of  Christ's  teaching  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  distinctly  recognizing  that  we  are  not  now  dealing 
with  the  method,  but  confining  ourselves  strictly  to  the  idea 
conveyed.  In  subsequent  chapters  we  shall  further  con- 
sider this  great  theme  of  salvation,  considering  other  aspects  ; 
but  now  we  are  investigating  the  thought  as  revealed  in  our 
Lord's  teaching  on  the  subject. 

What  material  have  we  at  our  disposal  ?  We  have  no 
single  recorded  instance  of  our  Lord's  employment  of  the 
word  Saviour,  as  applying  to  Himself.  Only  on  two  oc- 
casions do  the  Gospels  record  His  having  made  use  of  the 
word  salvation  ;  once  when  talking  to  a  Samaritan  woman, 
He  said  to  her,  "  salvation  is  from  the  Jews,"  '  by  which 
He  most  evidently  meant  that  in  the  Divine  economy  the 
Hebrew  nation  was  that  through  which  the  Messiah  Saviour 
should  come  ;  and  once  when  He  said  to  Zacchaeus,  "  To- 
day is  salvation  come  to  this  house."* 

But  while  it  is  true  that  He  never  used  the  word  Saviour^ 
and  that  we  only  have  the  record  of  His  use  of  the  word 
salvation  twice,  the  word  to  save  He  constantly  employed, 
both  in  the  material  and  moral  realms.  Our  translations 
somewhat  obscure  this  fact.  Our  versions  report  Him  as 
having  said,  "  Thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole,"  ^  when  the 
word  is  exactly  the  same,  and  we  might  with  perfect  ac- 
curacy translate :  "  Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee."  Indeed 
the  word  is  stamped  upon  the  page  in  all  the  stories  of  the 
work  and  teaching  of  Jesus;  He  was  constantly  speaking 
of  saving.  It  is  however  very  suggestive  that  our  Lord  is 
never  recorded  as  having  used  the  word  to  save  in  any 
lower  application  than  that  of  human  life.  We  talk  about 
saving  property  ;  He  never  did.  He  used  the  word  only 
when  referring  to  humanity,  and  to  the  physical,  to  the 
mental,  or  to  the  essential  spiritual  life.  We  shall  con- 
1  John  iv.  22.  '  Luke  xix,  9.  »  Ibid.t  ▼"»•  48. 


Salvation  143 

centrate  our  attention  upon  the  story  of  Zacchaeus  as  illus- 
tration and  declaration.  The  whole  story  affords  an  illus- 
tration of  our  Lord's  thought  about  salvation,  for  in  the 
moment  when  Zacchasus  stood  and  made  his  great  confes- 
sion of  purposed  restitution,  our  Lord  said,  "  To-day  is  sal- 
vation come  to  this  house."  '  That  warrants  us  in  using 
the  story  as  an  illustration  of  His  conception  of  salvation. 
And  immediately  in  connection  therewith  He  made  His  great 
claim,  "  The  Son  of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost."  ^  I  propose  therefore  to  concentrate  upon 
that  story ;  but  I  also  propose  to  interpret,  by  our  Lord's 
use  of  the  verb  to  save,  elsewhere  what  He  meant  thereby 
when  He  declared  that  He  had  come  to  save  the  lost. 

The  setting  of  this  incident  must  be  emphasized  in  order 
to  make  it  plain  that  in  this  story  we  have  a  supreme  illus- 
tration of  the  work  of  Christ  as  Saviour  ;  and  an  exposition 
of  the  declaration  that  the  purpose  of  His  coming  was  that 
of  seeking  and  of  saving. 

The  story  of  Zacchaeus  is  closely  connected  with  the 
revelation  of  the  hostility  of  Christ's  enemies,  which  is  more 
clearly  marked  in  this  Gospel  than  in  either  of  the  others. 
There  is  a  development  of  it  clearly  manifest  through  the 
narrative.  The  fifteenth  chapter  is  closely  linked  to  the 
fourteenth.  That  is  seen  as  we  connect  the  last  words  of 
the  fourteenth  chapter  with  the  first  words  of  the  fifteenth. 
They  never  ought  to  have  been  separated.  Jesus  was 
speaking,  and  He  said  :  "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let 
him  hear"  ;  and  immediately  the  story  runs  on  :  "Now  all 
the  publicans  and  sinners  were  drawing  near  unto  Him  for 
to  hear  Him."  That  is  a  sequence,  almost  hidden  by  the 
division  of  our  Bible  i|ito  chapters.  Then,  still  in  unbroken 
continuity,  the  writer  tells  us,  "  And  both  the  Pharisees  and 
the  scribes  murmured,  saying,  This  man  receiveth  sinners, 
1  Luke  xix.  9.  '  Jbid.^  xix.  10. 


144  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

and  eateth  with  them."  Observe  very  carefully  that  thcii 
criticism  of  Him  was  due  to  the  fact  that  He  received  sin- 
ners. If  we  would  understand  this,  and  get  at  the  true 
meaning  of  it,  we  must  set  our  minds  free  for  the  moment 
from  the  great  values  which  we  associate  with  the  words, 
"  This  man  receiveth  sinners."  We  hear  all  the  music  of 
the  evangel  singing  through  them ;  but  let  them  be  read  as 
they  were  spoken,  as  words  of  criticism.  Then  let  us  en- 
deavour to  see  what  these  men  saw  which  caused  their  diffi- 
culty. Christ  came  from  the  house  of  a  Pharisee,  where 
He  had  been  entertained,  and  immediately  made  Himself,  to 
all  outward  seeming,  perfectly  one  with  a  great  crowd  of 
sinning  men.  His  attitude  towards  them  was  not  that  of 
patronage,  was  not  that  of  superiority  ;  He  took  them  to  His 
heart ;  if  I  may  say  that  which  almost  sounds  irreverent,  His 
attitude  was  that  which  would  have  been  designated  to-day 
as,  "hail  fellow  well  met,"  towards  all  the  rabble  gathered 
about.  That  was  the  astonishing  thing,  which  perplexed 
the  Pharisees,  and  made  them  afraid  of  Him.  Technically 
and  traditionally  they  were  men  of  extreme  purity  of  life. 
"  He  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with  them."  This  then 
is  an  outstanding  illustration  of  the  hostile  atmosphere  in 
which  our  Lord  was  doing  His  work.  He  answered  their 
criticism  by  the  parable  of  lost  things  which  immediately 
follows ;  the  one  parable  with  its  threefold  value ;  the  lost 
sheep,  the  lost  silver,  the  lost  son  ;  the  good  shepherd,  the 
seeking  woman,  and  the  rejoicing  father ;  an  interpretation, 
to  those  who  had  eyes  to  see,  and  hearts  to  understand,  of 
the  meanmg  of  His  familiarity  with  sinning  men;  an  un- 
folding of  the  fact  that  He  was  there  in  the  midst  of  sinners 
for  the  one  purpose  of  saving  them.  The  parable  was  not 
perfectly  understood  ;  and  I  follow  the  story  on  until  I  come 
to  the  eighteenth  chapter,  and  there  I  see  Him  with  His  face 
set  towards  Jerusalem,  and  I  hear  these  words,  "  He  took 


Salvation 


HS 


unto  Him  the  twelve,  and  said  unto  them,  Behold,  we  go  up 
to  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  things  that  are  written  by  the 
prophets  shall  be  accomplished  unto  the  Son  of  Man.  For 
He  shall  be  delivered  up  unto  the  Gentiles,  and  shall  be 
mocked,  and  shamefully  entreated,  and  spit  upon  :  and  they 
shall  scourge  and  kill  Him  :  and  the  third  day  He  shall  rise 
again.  And  they  understood  none  of  these  things."  *  He 
was  on  the  same  pathway,  the  same  mission  was  still  the 
passion  of  His  heart.  His  face  was  now  set  towards  Jeru- 
salem. He  passed  through  Jericho,  and  there  occurred  the 
incident  of  Zacchaeus. 

In  this  sequence  our  story  is  seen  to  be  a  remarkable  illus- 
tration of  His  own  conception  of  His  work  ;  first  we  see  His 
attitude  criticized  by  the  Pharisees ;  secondly,  the  passion 
that  drove  Him  towards  the  Cross  was  declared  to  disciples 
who  were  unable  to  understand ;  until  finally  in  concrete 
form  came  a  revelation  of  His  own  conception  of  His  work. 

Let  us  first  refresh  our  memories  as  to  the  actual  facts  of 
the  incident.  In  spite  of  all  the  commentators  and  exposi- 
tors, Zacchaeus  did  not  climb  the  sycamore  tree  because  he 
was  anxious  to  see  Jesus.  He  climbed  the  sycamore  tree 
because  there  was  a  crowd,  and  he  wanted  to  see  who  was 
causing  it.  The  crowd  was  passing  that  way,  and  he 
climbed,  notice  carefully  the  words  :  "  He  sought  to  see 
Jesus  who  He  was.'"  ^  The  real  fact  was  that  this  man  was 
curious  because  of  the  crowd.  Humanity  is  the  same  in 
London  as  in  Jericho.  If  there  is  a  crowd  in  London,  men 
always  want  to  know  what  is  happening;  and  Zacchaeus, 
suffering  from  the  limitation  of  his  stature,  climbed  the  tree 
to  do  so.  It  is  not  that  he  knew  Jesus,  and  was  eager  to 
look  upon  Him.  Zacchaeus  was  a  Roman  tax-gatherer,  and 
he  was  rich.  He  was  therefore  a  rogue.  That  needs  no 
argument.  There  have  been  many  attempts  to  whitewash 
»  Luke  xviii.  31-34.  «  JHd.,  xix.  3. 


146  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

this  man,  but  it  is  impossible.  He  was  not  a  rogue  because 
he  was  rich,  but  because  he  was  a  tax-gatherer,  and  rich. 
When  John  the  Baptist  began  his  ministry,  he  said  to  the 
publicans :  "  Extort  no  more  than  that  which  is  appointed 
you  "  ;  *  and  those  familiar  with  the  method  of  this  gather- 
ing of  the  Roman  taxes  know  that  the  tax-gatherer  farmed 
a  district ;  and  if  he  exacted  no  more  than  his  due,  he  never 
became  a  rich  man.  But  Zacchaeus  was  a  rich  man,  and 
therefore  a  rogue. 

When  Christ  arrived  beneath  that  tree.  He  halted,  and 
looking  up.  He  said,  "  Zacchaeus,  make  haste,  and  come 
down  ;  for  to-day  I  must  abide  at  thy  house."  *  I  am  not 
quite  sure  which  of  two  things  may  be  more  accurately 
suggested  by  that  self-invitation  of  Jesus  to  the  house  of 
Zacchaeus.  Perhaps  both  are  true.  First  it  was  a  sign  or 
perfect  friendship  and  comradeship.  How  many  houses  are 
there  in  this  country  to  which  we  can  invite  ourselves  ?  That 
is  the  final  sign  of  a  perfect  friendship,  and  in  that  view  we 
find  another  instance  of  the  familiarity  with  which  Christ 
approached  these  men.  He  asked  hospitality.  Or  was  it 
the  word  of  a  great  sovereignty  j  for  the  King  ever  informs 
those  whose  hospitality  He  is  prepared  to  accept  ?  Was  it 
not  rather  supremely  the  evidence  of  a  profound  compas- 
sion, in  which  sovereignty  and  service  merged  and  mingled  ? 
But  be  that  as  it  may,  to  the  surprise  of  the  man.  He  asked 
his  hospitality  ;  and  gladly  and  joyfully  he  came  down  and 
received  Him.  As  they  passed  together  into  that  home, 
the  multitude  murmured.  It  was  the  last  wail  of  hopeless- 
ness, "  He  is  gone  in  to  lodge  with  a  man  that  is  a  sinner."' 

What  was  the  effect  produced  ?     We  are  told  sometimes 

to-day  that   the   revival  we   need    is  ethical.      Here  was  an 

ethical  revival.     We  do  not  know  how  long  they  were  to* 

gether  in  converse,  or  what  Jesus  said  to  him  in  the  loneli- 

>  Luke  iii.  13.  '  Ibid.,  xix.  x.  '  Ibid.^  xix.  7. 


Salvation  1 47 

ness  of  his  own  house.  But  we  know  the  results.  Within  a 
very  brief  period  the  man  was  disgorging  his  ill-gotten  gains. 

Now  mark  most  carefully  that,  in  this  connection,  our 
Lord  made  His  one  recorded  public  definite  useof  the  word 
salvation  :  "  To-day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house.** '  The 
proof  that  salvation  had  come  was  that  the  man  was  revealed 
as  "  a  son  of  Abraham."  Do  not  confuse  cause  and  effect 
in  this  story.  Christ  declared  salvation  had  come  to  the 
house.  How  did  He  prove  it  ?  "  Forasmuch  as  he  also  is 
a  son  of  Abraham.'*  Was  he  not  a  son  of  Abraham  before  ? 
Jesus  did  not  recognize  his  sonship  until  he  did  the  works 
which  were  the  outcome  of  faith.  In  the  hour  of  supreme 
conflict  with  the  rulers,  later  on,  Jesus  said,  "  If  ye  were 
Abraham's  children,  ye  would  do  the  works  of  Jbraham.''*^ 
Of  this  man,  giving  up  ill-gotten  gains,  swinging  back  to 
lines  of  righteousness;  morally  remade,  and  demonstrating 
his  moral  reconstruction  by  his  righteous  act;  Christ  said, 
That  is  a  son  of  Abraham.  To-day  salvation  is  come  to 
this  house.     There  is  the  evidence  of  it  ! 

Salvation  then  is  a  power  that  takes  hold  of  a  man,  and 
remakes  him.  And  immediately  following,  in  closest  con- 
nection, our  Lord  declared  in  simple  words  the  meaning  of 
His  own  mission  in  the  world,  "  The  Son  of  Man  came  to 
seek  and  to  save."  "  To-day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house.'* 
The  Son  of  Man  came  to  do  that  !  He  was  criticized  for 
eating  with  sinning  men,  for  accepting  the  hospitality  of  a 
rogue  !  But  the  results  reveal  the  purpose  of  His  going  into 
that  house.     He  came  to  seek  and  save  that  which  was  lost. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  other  illustrations,  in  order  that  we 
may  know  what  He  really  meant  when  He  said  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Zacchaeus,  that  His  business  was  that  of  saving. 
Let  us  take  one  or  two  occasions  on  which  He  used  the 
word  in  the  material  realm.  When  He  was  about  to  heai 
»  Luke  xix.  9.  "  John  viii.  39. 


148  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

the  man  with  the  withered  hand  in  the  synagogue,  He 
challenged  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  by  asking  this  question, 
"  Is  it  lawful  on  the  Sabbath  to  do  good,  or  to  do  harm  ? 
to  save  a  life,  or  to  destroy  it  ?  "  *  When  the  woman 
touched  Him  and  was  healed  of  her  issue  of  blood.  He 
turned  and  said,  "  Daughter,  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee  ;  go 
in  peace."  ^  When  He  was  taken  to  the  house  of  the  dead 
child  of  Jairus  He  said  to  Jairus,  "  Fear  not :  only  believe, 
and  she  shall  be  saved''  ^  After  the  cleansing  of  the  ten 
lepers.  He  said  to  the  one  who  alone  returned  to  praise  God, 
"  Arise,  and  go  thy  way  :  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee."  ^  Once 
again,  when  He  healed  the  blind  man.  He  said  to  him, 
"  Receive  thy  sight :  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee."  ^ 

In  the  case  of  the  man  with  the  withered  hand,  what  did 
He  mean  by  saving  ?  The  withered  hand  was  restored. 
In  the  case  of  the  woman  with  the  issue  of  blood  what  did 
He  mean  ?  "  The  issue  of  her  blood  was  stanched." 
When  He  spoke  of  the  dead  child  being  saved^  what  did 
He  mean  ?  "  Her  spirit  returned,"  and  immediately  she 
rose.  When  He  spoke  to  the  leper,  what  did  He  mean  by 
saying  "  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee  "  ?  He  was  cleansed. 
What  did  He  mean  by  being  saved  when  the  blind  man  re- 
ceived his  sight  ?  He  saw.  Gather  together  those  illustra- 
tions, and  we  find  in  every  case  that  on  the  lips  of  Jesus 
^/the  word  save  meant  the  negativing  of  destructive  forces, 
and  the  restoration  to  men  and  women  of  all  that  had  been 
lost  thereby.  That  is  in  the  material  realm  alone.  The 
withered  hand  was  restored  whole  as  the  other.  For  long, 
long  years  in  the  case  of  the  woman  the  blood  had  been 
flowing,  and  she  had  suffered  ostracism,  excommunication, 
and  the  loss  of  everything  ;  and  in  a  moment  the  fountain 

1  Luke  vi.  9.  *  Ibid.y  xvii.  19. 

'  Ibid.,  viii.  48.  ^  Jbid.t  xviii.  43. 

'  Ibid.^  viii.  50. 


Salvation 


149 


of  her  blood  was  stanched,  the  whole  trouble  ceased.  The 
child  was  dead  ;  He  uttered  one  soft  rhythmic  command, 
"  Talitha  cumi,'*  and  the  spirit  came  back,  and  the  eyelids 
fluttered,  the  lips  opened,  the  limbs  moved,  and  she  rose 
and  went  to  father  and  mother.  Leprosy  was  cleansed,  so 
that  the  flesh  was  again  the  flesh  of  a  little  child.  Blind- 
ness was  ended,  and  sight  given.  That  was  His  common 
use  of  the  word. 

Pass  from  these  material  illustrations,  and  take  two  only 
in  the  moral  realm.  The  first  is  that  of  the  woman  who 
was  a  sinner,  who  came  into  the  house  of  Simon;  and 
Simon  stood  in  amazement  and  in  anger.  What  did  Simon 
see  that  shocked  him  ?  Simon  saw  a  fallen  woman  fon- 
dling Jesus  ;  and  we  miss  the  whole  impact  of  the  story  if 
we  dare  to  put  it  in  any  softer  form  or  fashion.  Luke  with 
fine  delicacy  says,  "  A  woman  which  was  in  the  city,  a 
sinner;  "  and  this  woman  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  house 
of  Simon,  knelt  behind  the  couch  on  which  Jesus  reclined 
at  the  board,  and  began  to  wash  His  feet  with  her  tears  as 
she  wept,  and  wipe  them  with  her  hair.  Simon  in  amaze- 
ment saw  a  woman  who  had  never  crossed  the  threshold 
before, — a  sinning  woman, — fondling  Jesus;  and  he  said 
within  his  soul.  That  either  means  that  He  will  be  polluted, 
or  else  that  there  is  some  guilty  secret  in  the  past.  Now 
listen  to  the  words  of  Christ :  "  Simon,  I  have  somewhat 
to  say  unto  thee  "  ;  and  to  the  reply,  "  Master,  say  on  !  '* 
Then  the  Master  put  that  woman  into  comparison  with 
Simon,  and  said  in  effect :  Simon,  your  mistake  is  that  you 
are  looking  at  the  woman  as  she  was.  Look  at  her  as  she 
is.  You  only  know  her  past.  Look  at  her  now.  You 
have  criticized  her  as  being  a  sinning  woman.  I  tell  you, 
Simon,  that,  by  the  side  of  her,  you  are  as  coarse  sack-cloth 
in  comparison  with  finest  silk.  In  the  matter  of  common 
courtesy  that  woman  has  made  up  for  your  boorishness  by 


1 50  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

her  sweetness  and  her  love.  And,  Simon,  now  I  will  tell 
you  the  secret.  Her  sins  which  are  many  are  forgiven ; — 
for  Christ  did  not  mean  to  say  that  she  was  forgiven  be- 
cause she  loved;  but  that  she  loved  because  she  was  for- 
given. He  had  known  her  before.  He  had  met  her  before. 
He  had  wrought  in  her  soul  the  moral  healing  that  had  re- 
made her  !  Then  He  looked  at  her,  and  He  said,  "  Thy 
faith  hath  saved  thee."  ^  He  used  the  word  now  in  the 
moral  realm,  and  what  does  the  story  reveal  as  to  its  mean- 
ing ?  A  sinning,  soiled,  smirched  woman,  held  in  profound 
contempt  by  Simon  the  Pharisee,  had  become  the  gentle, 
the  refined,  the  beautiful,  who  made  up  for  the  boorishness 
of  his  failure  in  the  tenderness  of  her  ministry  to  her  Lord. 
His  moral  use  of  the  word  has  the  same  significance  as  His 
material  use  of  it,  with  a  broader  reach,  and  a  more  spacious 
application.  To  save,  according  to  this  conception  of  Christ, 
is  to  take  hold  of  all  the  destructive  forces,  and  to  destroy 
them,  and  to  realize  the  highest  beauty  and  glory  of  life. 

The  other  occasion  is  that  of  Zacchaeus  who,  at  first  hard 
and  unscrupulous,  suddenly  became  repentant,  and  com- 
passionate, giving  half  his  goods  to  the  poor,  making  restitu- 
tion fourfold.  Of  that  change  Christ  said.  That  is  salvation, 
to-day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house ;  and  I  came  to  bring 
it ;  "the  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost."  ^ 

Salvation  then  according  to  the  teaching  of  Christ  is  the 
complete  change  from  one  condition  to  its  opposite.  The 
withered  hand  healthy  and  powerful,  cessation  of  the  issue 
of  blood,  the  dead  child  alive,  the  leprous  men  cleansed, 
the  blind  eyes  seeing ;  all  these  He  described  as  saved. 

Passing  to  the  moral,  we  reach  the  realm  of  mysticism. 
But  we  may  interpret  the  moral  by  the  material.  The  for- 
giveness of  sins  is  not  merely  that  God  will  never  again 
*  Luke  vii.  50.  '  Jbid.,  xix.  10. 


Salvation  151 

mention  the  things  done  in  the  past.  The  forgiveness  of 
sins  means  sins  put  away,  not  as  guilt  merely,  but  as  virus, 
poison,  disability. 

Salvation  in  all  its  full  sense  is  not  a  present  experience 
of  the  saint.  The  apostle  wrote,  and  his  meaning  grows 
upon  me,  "  Now  is  salvation  nearer  to  us  than  when  we 
first  believed."*  There  is  a  sense  in  which  we  come  im- 
mediately into  possession  of  the  force  that  destroys  the  de- 
structive, and  that  remakes ;  but  never  in  this  world  is 
either  salvation  or  condemnation  completed.  Nevertheless 
the  process  is  one  that  culminates  in  perfection;  and  Christ 
will  never  think  of  me  as  finally  saved  until  He  gathers  me 
into  His  presence,  and  in  the  last  beatific  vision  makes  even 
my  body  to  be  conformed  to  the  body  of  His  glory.  That 
fs  His  purpose,  and  for  that  purpose  He  has  power  adequate. 
According  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  salvation  or  safety  is  the 
state  of  having  the  destructive  forces  destroyed,  and  the  es- 
sential life  realized.     The  Son  of  Man  came  to  do  that  work. 

Place  this  meditation  in  relation  to  our  previous  one,  in 
which  we  saw  what  Christ  taught  concerning  sin,  as  to  the 
element  of  human  responsibility,  the  fact  of  bondage  in  sin, 
and  the  awful  peril  of  fixity  in  sin.  Place  that  awe-inspir- 
ing teaching  concerning  sin  by  the  side  of  this  concerning 
salvation.  Salvation  means,  according  to  the  interpretation 
of  Jesus,  first  the  forgiveness  of  a  man  for  failure  to  fulfill 
responsibility ;  secondly  the  liberty  of  a  man  in  that  he  had 
become  the  bond-slave  of  sin  ;  and  finally  power  in  the  man, 
denying,  breaking  up  the  fixity  of  sin,  and  bringing  him  into 
a  glorious  liberty.  Every  material  miracle  had  in  it  the 
element  of  moral  value,  and  the  final  truth  revealed  is  that, 
according  to  Jesus,  salvation,  when  it  is  accomplished,  is 
immunity  from  all  harm,  and  all  danger;  and  His  mission 
is  that  of  bringing  such  salvation  to  men  who  need  it. 
1  Rom.  xiii.  ii. 


III.     HIS  SAVING  MlSSlOt^ 


"  Think  not  that  I  came  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets :  I  came  not 
to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill." — Matthew  v.  ly. 

"  Think  not  that  I  came  to  send  peace  on  the  earth  :  I  came  not  to  send 
peace  but  a  sword  !  " — x.  J4. 

"  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  Me,  and  he  that  receiveth  Me  re- 
ceiveth  Him  that  sent  Me." — x.  40. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many." — xx.  28. 


"  He  that  rejecteth  you  rejecteth  Me ;  and  he  that  rejecteth  Me  rejecteth 
Him  that  sent  Me." — Luke  x.  16. 

«« I  came  to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth ;  and  what  will  I,  if  it  is  already 
kindled  ?  But  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with ;  and  how  am  I 
straitened  till  it  be  accomplished  !  " — xii.  4g-Jo. 

**  The  Son  of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." — 
xix.  JO. 


"  I  am  come  in  My  Father's  name,  and  ye  receive  Me  not." — yohi, 
V.  43. 

"  I  came  that  they  may  have  life,  and  may  have  it  abundantly." — x.  10. 

"  For  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour.     Father,  glorify  Thy  name."— • 
xii.  ^7-^(S. 


Ill 

HIS  SAVING  MISSION 

Bearing  in  mind  the  general  conception  and  claim 
of  Christ  touching  salvation,  we  proceed  to  consider  His 
teaching  concerning  His  saving  missiono  We  start  with 
the  claim  itself,  uttered  in  relation  to  the  moral  miracle 
wrought  m  the  case  of  Zacchaeus  ;  and  there  are  one  or  two 
preliminary  matters  important  to  the  correct  apprehension 
of  its  value.  First,  the  title  "  the  Son  of  Man  "  was  our 
Lord's  favourite  title  for  Himself.  It  must  be  recognized 
also  that  His  use  of  it  was  personal,  and  not  generic.  Even 
though  it  be  a  mathematical  way  of  stating  it,  there  is  sug- 
gestiveness  in  the  fact  that  the  title  occurs  two-and-thirty 
times  In  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  fifteen  times  in  the  Gospel 
of  Mark,  twenty-six  in  Luke,  and  twelve  in  John  ;  and  that, 
with  two  exceptions,  it  is  always  used  by  Christ  Himself,  of 
Himself.  In  the  Gospel  of  John,  at  the  twelfth  chapter, 
we  find  that  men  once  said  to  Him,  "  We  have  heard  out 
of  the  law  that  the  Christ  abideth  forever :  ^and  how  sayest 
Thou,  The  Son  of  Man  must  be  lifted  up  ?  who  is  this  Son 
of  Man  ?  "  *  Evidently  they  took  the  phrase  from  His  own 
lips,  impressed  by  His  continual  use  of  it,  and  challenged 
Him  as  to  what  He  meant  when  He  described  Himself  as 
the  Son  of  Man.  In  every  other  case,  all  through  the 
Gospels,  this  descriptive  phrase  was  used  by  Christ  Himself. 
A  careful  comparison  of  these  passages  will  show  that  our 
Lord  never  used  the  phrase  in  a  generic  sense,  or  with 
reference  to  any  other  than  Himself. 

Notice  also  the  claim  made  m  the  general  terms  of  this 
*  John  xii.  34. 


156  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

text.  We  have  found  that  when  Christ  used  the  word  j^v^ 
of  material  miracle,  He  described  the  complete  restoration  to 
health  of  the  person  who  had  been  afflicted ;  and  that  when 
He  used  the  phrase  m  the  moral  realm,  He  described  the  com- 
plete restoration  to  holiness  of  character  and  rectitude  of 
conduct  of  such  as  had  been  spiritually  and  morally  disabled. 
But  the  central  word  of  value  for  the  present  considera- 
tion is  the  word  "  came.**  "The  Son  of  Man  came  to  seek 
and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  ^  In  referring  to  His 
mission  our  Lord  made  use  of  two  methods  of  speech.  He 
spoke  of  Himself  constantly  as  the  Sent  of  the  Father, 
and  He  spoke  of  Himself  as  coming  for  the  doing  of  a  work. 
The  first  method  is  so  full  of  interest  and  value  that  I  can- 
not wholly  pass  over  it.  In  my  Testament  I  have  marked 
out  the  occasions  upon  which  He  claimed  to  be  sent  of  God, 
and  it  is  remarkable  how  constantly  this  thought  was  pres- 
ent to  His  own  mind.  Each  of  the  synoptists  chronicles 
at  least  one  instance,  and  in  each  case  an  important  one,  in 
which  He  referred  to  the  fact  that  He  was  the  Sent  of  God  : 
"  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  Me,  and  he  that  receiveth 
Me  receiveth  Him  that  sent  Me."  ^  Luke  chronicles  the 
negative  statement  also,  "  He  that "  rejecteth  you  rejecteth 
Me  ;  and  he  that  rejecteth  Me  rejecteth  Him  that  sent 
Me."  ^  But  this  claim  of  the  Lord  is  most  remarkably 
manifest  in  the  Gospel  of  John.  It  is  the  very  warp  of  His 
teaching  as  there  set  forth.  The  first  instance  occurs  in  His 
dealing  with  an  individual  seeker,  when  in  conversation 
with  Nicodemus  He  claimed  that  He  had  been  sent  by  God, 
and  then  in  every  successive  chapter  in  the  Gospel  of  John 
up  to  and  including  the  seventeenth,  the  chapter  of  the 
great  intercessory  prayer.  He  is  perpetually  recorded  as  al- 
luding to  the  fact  that  He  was  the  Sent  of  the  Father.  In 
chapters  eighteen  and  nineteen,  which  deal  with  His  sor- 
*  Luke  xix.  10.         *  Matt.  x.  40.         '  Luke  x.  16. 


His  Saving  Mission  157 

rows,  and  are  characterized  by  comparative  silence,  that  fact 
is  not  mentioned  ;  and  the  last  occurrence  is  in  chapter 
twenty.  This  brings  clearly  before  the  mind  the  fact  that 
in  the  common  speech  of  Christ  we  have  a  revelation  of  the 
fact,  both  definitely  declared,  and  incidentally  referred  to, 
that  He  wrought  and  spoke  as  One  claiming  to  have  been 
sent  into  the  world  by  God  Himself. 

In  each  case,  both  in  these  references  to  the  fact  of  His 
having  been  sent,  and  in  His  references  to  the  fact  that  He 
came  into  the  world,  the  implication  is  that  of  His  pre- 
existence.  All  His  speech  has  in  it  that  tone  and  that 
emphasis.  Whereas  in  certain  matters  He  spoke,  as  we 
have  seen  in  an  earlier  study,  in  terms  which  must  be 
described  as  temporal,  or  of  an  age.  He  far  more  often  spoke 
in  terms  which  were  eternal,  or  of  all  the  ages  ;  and  in  these 
He  either  described  Himself  as  the  Sent  of  God,  or  as  com- 
ing into  the  world,  thereby  claiming  a  prior  existence. 

All  these  declarations  reveal  a  definite  purpose,  as  the  ex- 
planation of  His  advent.  He  was  here  for  a  purpose,  sent 
of  God  for  a  definite  mission.  He  came  for  the  fulfillment 
of  that  mission.  We  shall  confine  ourselves  here  to  certain 
outstanding  words  in  which  He  spoke  of  Himself  as  having 
come,  and  in  which  He  declared  the  purpose  of  His  coming, 
and  revealed  the  method  by  which  He  would  accomplish 
that  purpose. 

There  are  four  outstanding  declarations  as  to  purpose  ;  all 
made  before  Caesarea  Philippi,  the  place  of  Peter's  confes- 
sion, after  which  our  Lord  turned  to  a  new  and  distinct  part 
of  His  work.  There  are  also  four  equally  definite  state- 
ments concerning  method;  all  of  which  were  made  after 
Csesarea  Philippi,  beyond  the  hour  of  Peter's  confession,  be- 
yond the  hour  in  which  Christ  unveiled  to  His  disciples  two 
great  secrets,  first  of  the  Church  as  the  instrument  through 
which  He  would  prepare  for  the  Kingdom,  and  the  Cross  as 


158  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

the  one  and  only  method  by  which  it  would  be  possible  for 
Him  to  build  His  Church,  or  to  establish  His  Kingdom. 

The  first  outstanding  declaration  of  Jesus  concerning  the 
purpose  of  His  mission  is  to  be  found  in  the  Manifesto  : 
"  Think  not  that  I  came  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets  : 
I  came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill."  ^ 

The  second  is  to  be  found  in  the  same  Gospel :  "  I  came 
not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners."  ^  That  saying  is  also 
recorded  by  Mark  and  Luke. 

The  third  is  also  found  in  Matthew  :  "  Think  not  that  I 
came  to  send  peace  on  the  earth  :  I  came  not  to  send  peace, 
but  a  sword  !  "  ^ 

And  the  final  reference  is  found  in  John's  Gospel  : 

"  I  am  come  in  My  P'ather's  name,  and  ye  receive  Me 
not."  ^ 

n  the  irst  claim  our  Lord  declared  the  ultimate  ethical 
purpose  of  His  presence  in  the  world.  This  statement  is 
found  at  the  commencement  of  a  brief  paragraph,  which 
closes  with  these  words,  "  Except  your  righteousness  shall 
exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  heaven."  ^  It  is  of 
supreme  importance  that  we  should  recognize  that  this  is 
Christ's  first  word  as  to  the  purpose  of  His  mission  in  the 
world.  The  evangelical  presentation  of  the  Gospel  has  led 
some  astray  from  this,  or  has  made  them  unmindful  of  it. 
The  first  purpose,  the  ultimate  purpose,  the  passion  of  His 
heart,  was  the  establishment  of  the  law  of  God,  and  the 
creation  in  men  of  a  character  of  holiness  which  should  is- 
sue in  a  conduct  of  righteousness.  The  ultimate  purpose 
of  the  mission  of  Christ  is  thus  revealed  to  be  ethical ;  and 
that  according  to  this  word  of  Jesus,  and  the  whole  of  His 
teaching   harmonizes  with   it.  He   did   not   come   into  this 

1  Matt.  V.  17.  '  Bid.,  X.  34.  fl  Matt.  v.  20. 

'  /did.,   ix.  13.  *  John  v.  43. 


His  Saving  Mission  I59 

world  to  persuade  God  to  excuse  men  who  are  moral 
failures.  He  came  into  the  world  to  establish  the  law,  to 
make  it  honourable  ;  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  human  history 
as  the  severest  of  all  moral  teachers,  embodying  the  highest 
ideal  of  law,  and  at  all  costs  insisting  upon  obedience 
thereto.  In  that  ultimate  triumph  of  Christ,  when  He  shall 
see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  be  satisfied,  and  in  those 
who  have  been  ransomed  and  redeemed  shall  find  the  fulfill- 
ment of  His  highest  purpose.  He  will  not  lead  into  the 
larger  life  a  great  host  of  men  and  women  crippled  and  in- 
capable, without  spiritual  power,  and  defective  in  moral 
character.  When  His  work  is  done  in  His  own.  He  will 
present  them  to  His  Father  without  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any 
such  thing,  absolutely  perfect,  with  the  perfection  of  His 
own  holiness  of  character  and  righteousness  of  conduct.  I 
came  not  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets,  but  to  fulfill. 
The  master-passion  of  the  heart  of  Christ  was  ethical,  holy, 
righteous  ;  and  the  very  first  word  in  which  He  made  any 
statement  concerning  His  mission  in  the  world  was  a  word 
in  which  He  insisted  upon  this  fact. 

But  had  He  said  nothing  else  I  should  have  had  no 
Gospel.  That  is  not  the  Gospel.  It  is  preliminary  to  the 
Gospel.  It  is  a  revelation  of  the  ultimate  value  of  the 
Gospel ;  but  it  is  not  the  Gospel.  He  came  and  He  gave 
the  world  His  ethic  in  that  great  Manifesto,  which  so  many 
men  are  admiring,  but  which  so  few  men  will  dare  try  to 
obey  ;  that  Manifesto  from  which  it  is  the  fashion  of  the 
hour  to  deduce  certain  social  values,  in  order  that  we  may 
attempt  to  realize  them,  but  which  men  seem  to  forget  is 
introduced  by  words  thrilling  with  tenderness,  and  yet 
vibrant  with  the  thunder  of  an  awful  holiness,  as  the  great 
moral  Teacher, — if  you  speak  of  Jesus  as  being  such- 
puts  at  the  forefront  of  His  Manifesto  the  absolute  neces- 
sity for  character.     But  that  is  not  the  Gospel.     If  I  have 


l6o  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

nothing  other  than  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  I  have  no 
Gospel  to  preach. 

The  second  of  these  words,  in  the  light  of  this  high  dec- 
laration concerning  ultimate  ethical  purpose,  is  the  more 
amazing  and  the  more  arresting.  "  I  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners."  '  They  declare  His  immediate  re- 
deeming purpose. 

Jesus  was  upon  this  occasion  defending  Himself  against 
the  criticism  of  those  who  did  not  understand  His  attitude 
towards  sinning  men.  He  sat  down  and  ate  with  publicans 
and  sinners;  and  He  violated  tradition  as  He  did  so  with 
unwashen  hands.  He  made  Himself,  most  evidently,  the 
personal,  near,  close  companion  of  sinning  men ;  and  the 
moralists  of  His  day,  whose  only  conception  of  morality 
was  that  it  must  be  maintained  by  absolute  separation  from 
all  sinning  men,  in  habits  and  in  social  life,  looked  with 
amazement  at  Him,  and  they  criticized  Him  ;  and  He  an- 
swered their  criticism  by  saying,  "  They  that  are  whole  have 
no  need  of  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  ...  I 
came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners."  In  that  state- 
ment He  explained  the  meaning  of  His  companionship  with 
sinning  men.  He  revealed  the  fact  that  the  passion  of  His 
heart  for  them  was  that  of  the  physician.  Now  there  arc 
two  things  that  the  illustration  connotes.  The  physician  is 
needed  when  there  is  disease  ;  but  the  passion  of  the  physi- 
cian is  for  health.  So  that  the  first  principle  is  not  violated 
in  the  second.  I  have  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill. 
I  have  come  to  take  hold  of  the  morally  and  spiritually  sick, 
and  make  them  well ;  that  is  the  immediate  purpose  of  My 
presence  in  the  world  ;  and  if  there  are  men  who  are  right- 
eous, and  have  no  moral  malady,  no  spiritual  sickness,  I 
have  no  message  for  them. 

Now  that  is  a  very  astonishing  thing,  but  it  is  our  Lord's 
1  Matt.  ix.  13. 


His  Saving  Mission  l6i 

own  teaching.  If  you  are  righteous,  having  no  spiritual 
malady,  no  spiritual  sickness,  Christ  has  no  message  for 
you.  I  leave  that  matter  for  application  in  the  loneliness  of 
the  inner  life  of  every  man  and  woman  ;  only  before  we 
decide  as  to  whether  we  have  moral  malady,  or  spiritual 
sickness,  let  this  Physician  examine  us,  and  He  will  do  it 
with  that  selfsame  Manifesto,  that  ethical  standard  that  is 
not  satisfied  with  an  external  uprightness  unless  there  be  an 
absolute  heart  purity.  When  He  has  examined  the  life,  if 
we  can  stand  erect  and  say,  we  have  no  malady,  then  He 
will  say  to  us  :  I  have  no  message  for  you. 

Few  of  us  will  escape  the  conviction  of  need  if  we  let  Him 
deal  with  us.  But  here  is  the  Gospel,  "  The  Son  of  Man 
came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  "  I  came  not 
to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  "  ;  I  came, — whatever  that 
may  include  of  self-emptying,  and  stooping  in  humility,  and 
a  long  pathway  of  suffering  and  sorrow, — to  call  sinners. 

The  next  words  are,  "  Think  not  that  I  came  to  send 
peace  on  the  earth  :  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a 
sword  !  "  *  Here  we  specially  need  all  the  context  or  we 
shall  surely  be  mistaken  as  to  our  Lord's  meaning.  He 
was  insisting  upon  the  absolute  necessity  of  loyalty  to  Him. 
Remember  He  came  with  an  ultimate  ethical  purpose  in 
His  heart.  He  came  also  with  an  immediate  redeeming 
purpose.  Now  if  the  incompetent  man,  the  broken  man, 
the  man  who  has  failed  morally,  is  to  receive  healing,  health, 
holiness,  to  realize  the  Divine  purpose;  that  man  must  un- 
reservedly and  absolutely  put  himself  under  the  guidance 
and  direction  and  rule  of  Jesus.  There  must  be  no  affec- 
tion allowed  to  interfere,  no  earthly  tie  mast  restrain,  no 
passion  or  pride  of  the  self-life  must  be  permitted  to  hinder. 
The  right  hand  must  be  cut  off,  and  cast  away ;  the  right 
eye  must  be  plucked  out ;  neither  father,  mother,  nor  child 
*  Matt.  X.  34. 


i62  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

must  be  loved  more  than  He,  or  we  are  not  worthy  of  Him. 
These  are  the  severest  terms  that  it  is  possible  for  us  to 
imagine  ;  and  therefore  there  must  be  a  separating  process ; 
not  peace,  but  a  sword.  This  is  merely  a  description  of  a 
process,  a  declaration  of  what  must  inevitably  happen  if 
men  will  follow  Him  absolutely,  in  order  that  He  may  heal 
them  perfectly,  and  fulfill  His  high  purpose  within  them  ; 
and  so  at  the  commencement,  that  there  may  be  no  mistake. 
He  said,  "  not  peace,  but  a  sword."  If  we  are  conscious 
of  moral  malady,  of  spiritual  sickness,  and  come  to  this  great 
Physician,  Whose  ultimate  purpose  is  our  health  of  soul, 
and  Whose  immediate  purpose  is  the  redemption  that  shall 
produce  that  health,  then  we  must  give  ourselves  to  Him 
entirely,  absolutely  ;  and  to  do  this  will  divide  households, 
will  separate  between  parents  and  children,  between  brothers 
and  sisters.  Our  Lord  was  simply  stating  the  fact,  and 
there  is  no  need  for  me  to  argue  it.  He  came  to  send  a 
sword  ;  and  He  has  done  it  through  all  the  centuries.  He 
is  doing  it  still.  There  are  those  who  know  the  keenness 
of  it ;  instead  of  peace,  there  is  indeed  a  sword.  His  mis- 
sion was  one  of  separation  in  order  to  the  creation  of  the 
new,  pure,  strong,  ransomed  society,  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  His  purposes  in  the  economy  of  God. 

The  last  of  these  four  outstanding  declarations  taken 
alone  is  full  of  beauty,  but  we  miss  the  true  light  unless  wc 
consider  it  in  its  relation  to  the  story  of  the  man  who  had 
lain  for  so  long  in  the  porches  of  the  Bethesda  pool.  Christ 
healed  him,  and  when  the  rulers  criticized  Jesus  for  making 
the  man  break  Sabbath,  our  Lord  answered,  "  My  Father 
worketh  even  L;ricii  now,  and  I  work  ;  "  ^  and  the  discussion 
ran  to  an  argument,  a  defense,  an  explanation  ;  and  in  that 
connection  this  word  occurred,  "I  am  come  in  My  Fa- 
ther's name."  ^  For  the  meaning  of  this  word  then,  we 
*  John  V.  17.  «  Ibid.^  v.  43. 


His  Saving  Mission  163 

need  the  story  itself,  and  His  interpretation  of  what  He  did 
when  He  healed  the  man ;  and  we  need  that  interpretation 
in  the  light  of  the  criticism  which  was  offered. 

This  man,  for  eight  and  thirty  years,  had  been  in  the  grip 
of  an  infirmity,  until  he  had  lost  heart  and  lost  hope,  and 
had  become  despondently  contented, — if  that  be  not  a  con- 
tradiction of  terms — with  his  condition.  Jesus,  passing 
through,  looked  at  him,  and  said,  Do  you  wish  to  be  made 
whole .?  And  the  man  replied,  Sir, — and  I  never  can  read 
it  without  feeling  there  was  a  touch  of  protest  in  it,  as 
though  he  had  said.  Sir,  why  do  you  ask  me  a  question  like 
that .? — When  the  water  is  troubled,  and  I  try  to  reach  it, 
some  man  is  in  front  of  me,  and  I  have  no  man  that  can 
put  me  in.  What  did  that  answer  mean  ?  It  surely  was 
as  if  he  had  said.  Of  course  I  wish  to  be  made  whole,  but 
I  never  can  be  made  whole.  Why  do  you  mock  my  im- 
potence ?  It  is  too  late,  and  I  have  to  be  content  to  live 
upon  the  almsgiving  of  others,  with  no  hope  of  healing. 
Then  came  the  word  of  Christ  to  him,  "  Take  up  thy  bed, 
and  walk."  And  he  arose  and  took  up  his  bed  and  walked  ; 
a  material  miracle  with  a  moral  value  ;  but  the  blind  men 
about  Him  could  not  interpret  the  moral  value,  and  they 
charged  Christ  with  violating  God's  law  by  making  that 
man  break  the  Sabbath.  Christ  said  in  effect :  You  charge 
Me  with  breaking  Sabbath,  but  God's  Sabbath  was  broken 
by  man's  sin,  and  God  can  have  no  Sabbath  while  men  lie 
like  this  one,  broken  and  bruised.  "  My  Father  worketh," 
was  His  answer  to  the  charge  that  He  had  broken  Sabbath  ; 
"  My  Father  worketh  "  was  an  unveiling  of  the  Divine  dis- 
content in  the  presence  of  all  human  limitation  and  suffer- 
ing ;  of  the  restlessness  of  God  until  man  gets  his  rest ; 
"  My  Father  worketh  .  .  .  and  I  work."  Then  pres- 
ently and  in  direct  connection  He  said,  "  I  am  come  in  My 
Father's  name."     Thus  was  the  purpose  of  God  unveiled 


164  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

in  the  action  of  Jesus;  God's  determination  to  make  rest 
for  man,  and  His  willingness  to  give  up  His  rest  in  order 
to  do  so.  I  know  the  figure  halts.  I  know  it  is  imperfect> 
Incarnation  itself  is  imperfect  as  a  full  unveiling  of  Deity  ; 
but  it  is  perfect  in  that  it  meets  the  need  of  humanity. 
There  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is  unthinkable  that  God  can 
have  His  rest  interfered  with  ;  but  there  is  a  deeper  sense, 
a  profounder  sense,  in  which  it  is  true  that  God  is  not  im- 
passive, or  indifferent  in  the  presence  of  human  pain  and 
sorrow  and  agony.  "  My  Father  worketh."  ^  "  I  am  come 
in  My  Father's  name."  ^  Jesus  came  in  the  name  of  God 
Who  will  never  be  able  to  rest,  save  as  men  find  rest  in 
health  and  holiness,  and  the  realization  of  all  the  highest 
purposes  of  their  being. 

The  central  word  in  each  of  these  declarations  is  the 
statement,  "I  am  come,"  indicating  as  it  does  His  preexist- 
ence ;  and  that,  in  connection  with  the  affirmations  made, 
reveals  that  the  ultimate  purpose  of  His  mission  was  the 
establishment  of  righteousness  ;  the  immediate  purpose  of 
His  mission  was  the  redemption  of  the  man  who  has  failed, 
who  is  broken,  who  has  been  flung  out  upon  the  world's 
scrap  heap;  the  necessary  processional  purpose  of  His  mis- 
sion was  the  separation  between  men,  in  order  to  the  crea- 
tion of  a  great  society  ;  and  the  fundamental  purpose  of  His 
mission  was  that  of  the  carrying  out  of  the  enterprises  of  God. 

And  now  reverently  let  us  turn  to  the  second  consider- 
ation ;  the  words  of  Jesus  spoken  as  to  the  method  by  which 
He  will  establish  righteousness  ;  redeem  the  sinner;  creating 
in  the  process,  not  peace  but  conflict ;  until  at  last  the  heart 
of  God  shall  find  rest.  All  His  words  on  this  subject  were 
uttered  after  Caesarea  Philippi.  After  Peter  had  made  his 
great  confession  concerning  the  person  of  the  Lord,  He 
began  to  speak  to  His  disciples  definitely  and  plainly  about 
J  John  V.  17.  2  Ibid.,  v.  43. 


His  Saving  Mission  165 

His  Cross.  Both  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  give  the  ao 
count  of  the  confession  of  Peter,  and  they  all  record  that 
immediately  following  that  confession  He  began  this  teach- 
ing. Matthew  and  Mark  use  the  actual  word  "  began  **  j 
Luke  does  not  use  that  word,  but  his  placing  of  the  com- 
mencement at  that  point  is  quite  distinct. 

When  He  thus  began  to  talk  about  His  Cross  the  Lord 
employed  a  very  significant  expression  as  He  declared  that 
He  must^ — that  is  the  key  word  ;  Mark  employs  it,  Mat- 
thew uses  it,  Luke  reports  it, — they  all  quote  Him  as  de- 
claring that  He  mmt  go  to  Jerusalem,  suffer,  be  killed,  and 
the  third  day  be  raised  again.  The  whole  of  this  statement 
is  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the  Lord's  meaning. 
It  is  not  accurate  to  say  that  His  foretelling  of  the  Cross 
was  merely  the  result  of  spiritual  intuition,  and  His  must^ 
the  expression  of  a  fine  heroism  by  which  He  yielded  to 
death.  His  was  not  the  heroism  of  One  consenting  to  be  a 
victim,  for  He  never  spoke  of  the  Cross  without  speaking  of 
the  resurrection  which  lay  beyond  ;  it  was  rather  the  heroism 
of  a  determined  Victor,  Who  was  moving  through  a  dark 
and  awful  process,  towards  a  bright  and  glorious  victory. 
He  never  spoke  of  the  Cross  without  the  resurrection ;  but 
when  He  first  spoke  of  these  He  used  this  word  must.  Thus 
He  declared  that  it  was  necessary  that  He  should  go  to  Jeru- 
salem. It  was  in  the  economy  of  His  mission  that  He  went. 
The  Cross  was  no  accident.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
Peter,  in  the  first  Spirit-taught  exposition  of  the  Cross,  said, 
"  Him,  being  delivered  up  by  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  by  the  hand  of  lawless  men  did 
crucify  and  slay."  '  Man's  guilt  was  patent,  but  behind  it, 
around  it,  overruling  it,  was  something  mightier  than  man's 
guilt;  it  was  God's  grace.  "Him,  being  delivered  by  the 
determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God."  The  must 
1  Acts  ii.  23. 


l66  The  Teachfng  of  Christ 

of  Jesus  was  not  the  outcome  of  His  sense  that  circumstances 
were  against  Him.  The  must  of  Jesus  was  the  expression 
of  His  sense  that  He  was  still  working  with  His  Father, 
and  cooperating  with  the  purposes  of  God. 

Now  in  the  hght  of  that  must  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  let  us 
read  the  four  outstanding  words  in  which  He  declared  the 
method  by  which  He  would  accomplish  His  purpose.  The 
first  is  to  be  found  in  the  Gospel  according  to  John  :  "  I 
came  that  they  may  have  life,  and  may  have  it  abundantly.'*  * 

The  second  is  in  the  Gospel  according  to  Luke  :  "  I  came 
to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth  ;  and  what  will  1  " — what  do  I  de- 
sire— "  if,"  and  it  is  the  sigh  of  desire,  not  a  supposition — 
"Oh,  that  it  were  already  kindled.  But  I  have  a  baptism  to 
be  baptized  with;  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accom- 
plished !"  ^ 

The  third  Is  in  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew  :  "  The 
Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister, 
and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many."  ^ 

The  final  one  is  again  found  in  the  Gospel  according  to 
John:  "Now  is  My  soul  troubled;  and  what  shall  I  say? 
Father,  save  Me  from  this  hour  ?  But  for  this  cause  came 
I  unto  this  hour.  Father,  glorify  Thy  name.  There  came 
therefore  a  voice  out  of  heaven,  saving,  I  have  both  glorified 
it,  and  will  glorify  it  again."  ^ 

In  these  great  words  in  which  He  referred  to  His  coming, 
He  also  revealed  the  method  by  which  He  will  accomplish 
the  great  purposes  already  considered. 

In  the  first  of  these  statements  He  was  speaking  of  the 
sheep;  fleeced,  wounded,  harried  by  wolves;  and  He  said, 
"I  am  the  good  Shepherd  :  the  good  Shepherd  layeth  down 
His  life  for  the  sheep  "^  and  again,  "I  lay  down  My  life 
for  the  sheep."       This  was  not  a  repetition,  but  the  revela- 

^  John  X.  ID.  3  Matt.  xx.  28.  Ibid.,  x.  il. 

'  Luke  xii.  49,  50.  *  John  xii.  27,  28.  Ibid.,  x.  15. 


His  Saving  Mission  167 

tion  of  a  twofold  fact.  The  first  was  figurative;  the  good 
Shepherd  giveth  His  life  for  the  sheep;  that  is,  He  dies  for 
them ;  He  grapples  with  the  wolf  in  order  that  He  may 
protect  the  sheep  ;  and  He  dies  in  the  struggle,  but  He  slays 
the  wolf.  But  in  the  second  affirmation  the  figure  is  tran- 
scended, the  truth  emerges  into  a  larger  presentation  than  the 
figure  can  contain.  The  figure  is  exhausted  when  the  good 
Shepherd  of  human  life  has  fought  the  wolf  and  slain  it,  dy- 
ing Himself  in  the  struggle.  But  our  good  Shepherd  says, 
"No  one  taketh  it  away  from  Me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  Myself. 
I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it 
again."  *  I  will  not  merely  slay  the  wolf  in  My  dying,  but 
1  will  give  My  life  to  the  sheep  in  order  that  they  may  be 
able  to  overcome  all  the  wolves  that  may  attack  them.  What 
exposition  can  there  be  of  such  poetry  as  this  ?  It  is  poetry 
itself  transcended  by  the  fact  of  the  infinite  grace  and  glory 
which  it  attempts  to  express.  The  Master  came  to  fulfill 
law  and  prophecy,  to  establish  a  life  in  men  which  shall  meet 
the  Divine  requirement;  but  men  need  a  dynamic,  and  He 
gives  them  His  life,  that  the  forces  of  His  purity  may  operate 
in  them;  but  He  could  only  do  this  through  death.  Jesus 
never  attempted  to  explain  the  atonement.  There  is  not  a 
single  passage  in  all  His  teaching  that  will  help  us  if  we  are 
seeking  for  a  theory. 

But  the  fact  He  declared : 

"  He  death  by  dying  slew. 
He  hell  in  hell  laid  low  ; 
Bowed  to  the  grave,  destroyed  it  so." 

By  the  giving  of  His  life  He  declared  that  He  would  destrt>y 
the  wolf,  and  energize  the  sheep. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  great  soliloquy  in  Luke.     I  describe  it 
thus  because  it  breaks  in  upon  the  continuity  of  the  narrative. 
» John  X.  18. 


i68  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

It  was  a  great  heart-burst.  "  I  came  to  cast  fire  upon  the 
earth  ;  "  fire,  the  cleansing  agent,  superior  to,  and  mightiei 
than  water.  Water  can  only  cleanse  superficial  things.  Fire 
will  penetrate  and  cleanse  thoroughly.  ''  I  came  to  cast  fire 
on  the  earth."  It  will  be  for  the  cleansing  of  sinful  natures. 
How  can  it  be  done  ?  "  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized 
with ;  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished  !  *'  I 
cannot  scatter  this  fire ;  I  cannot  fulfill  My  redeeming  pur- 
pose in  the  experience  of  a  man,  save  by  the  way  of  My  own 
passion-baptism  !  Again  here  is  no  explanation  of  profound 
secrets,  no  attempt  to  unveil  the  mystery  of  a  method  deep  as 
the  very  nature  of  God;  but  a  clear  declaration  that  only 
by  the  way  of  a  passion-baptism  could  He  fulfill  His 
purpose. 

The  third  declaration  was :  "  The  Son  of  Man  came  not 
to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a 
ransom  for  many."  He  was  charging  His  disciples  that  they 
were  to  enter  into  new  social  relationships,  that  they  were  to 
minister  to  one  another,  that  they  were  to  help  each  other 
within  the  economy  of  His  new  spiritual  Kingdom.  Then 
He  inspired  them  by  His  own  example  as  He  said,  "The  Son 
of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister"; 
and  added  to  the  words  of  inspiration  the  revealing  word, 
"  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many."  Thus  He  brings 
the  gift  of  peace  into  the  new  family  and  the  new  Kingdom, 
by  the  giving  of  His  life,  and  the  inspiration  of  that  giving 
in  the  lives  of  other  men,  as  in  answer  to  it  they  are  led  to 
a  similar  ministry. 

The  last  of  these  words  was  uttered  in  a  great  triumph  of 
prayer.  Jesus  was  under  the  very  shadow  of  His  Cross,  and 
the  Greek  enquirers  came,  asking  to  see  Him.  When  Philip 
brought  them  to  Him  our  Lord  said,  "  Except  a  grain  of  wheat 
fall  into  the  earth  and  die,  it  abideth  by  itself  alone  -,  but  if 
it  die,  it  beareth   much  fruit.     ,     .     .     Now  is  My  soui 


His  Saving  Mission  169 

troubled  ;  and  what  shall  I  say  ?  Father,  save  Me  from  this 
hour?"  He  did  not  say  that.  What  then  did  He  say  ? 
"But  for  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour."  It  was  the 
hour  of  darkness,  the  blackness  was  gathering  about  His  soul, 
the  horror  of  the  coming  passion  was  filling  His  heart,  "What 
shall  I  say  ?  "  Father,  deliver  Me  from  it  ?  No,  "  Father, 
glorify  Thy  name."  It  was  the  triumph  of  One  coming 
into  the  ultimate  cooperation  with  His  Father.  The  last 
word  in  the  proclamation  of  purpose  was  "  I  am  come  in  My 
Father's  name."  The  last  word  in  the  unveiling  of  the 
method  was  "  Father,  glorify  Thy  name."  The  answer 
came  in  thunder,  "  I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify 
it  again."  And  then,  the  Cross  before  Him  in  determina- 
tion. He  uttered  the  great  words  of  triumph,  "  Now  is  the 
judgment  of  this  world  :  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be 
cast  out.  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  Myself."  This  was  His  final  word  concern- 
mg  the  method  whereby  He  will  establish  righteousness, 
redeem  sinning  men,  and  fulfill  the  purposes  of  God. 

In  the  correlation  of  these  declarations  of  purpose,  and 
revelations  of  method,  we  have  the  teaching  of  Christ  con- 
cerning His  saving  mission.  The  gift  of  life  through  death 
makes  possible  the  fulfillment  of  ethical  purpose.  The  gift  of 
fire  through  death  makes  possible  the  redemption  of  sinners, 
and  the  healing  of  souls  spiritually  sick.  The  gift  of  peace 
through  death  is  at  once  the  inspiration  and  the  realization 
thereof.  The  purpose  of  God  realized  through  the  sorrows 
of  death  is  the  way  by  which  His  glory  is  ensured. 

What,  then,  are  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  this 
statement  of  Christ's  own  teaching  concerning  His  mission  ? 
First,  that  He  came  to  cure  moral  malady  through  death. 
Secondly,  that  He  came  to  enable  men  to  live  life  in  har- 
mony with  the  will  of  God,  and  in  the  fulfillment  of  His 
purpose  by  the  bestowment  of  life  out  of  death.     Thirdly, 


1 70  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

vhat  He  came  to  separate  by  a  sword  in  order  to  establish  a 
final  peace,  through  His  death.  Finally  and  inclusively  that 
He  came  to  cooperate  with  God,  and  to  glorify  the  name 
of  God  through  death.  Thus  He  interpreted  the  purpose 
and  method  of  His  mission  in  the  world. 


IV.    HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY 


"  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and  to  say,  Repent  ye  ;  for  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." — Matthew  iv.  17. 


"  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them.  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye 
believe  on  Him  Whom  He  hath  sent." — John  vi.  2g. 

"  If  any  man  willeth   to  do   His  will,  he  shall   know  of  the  teaching, 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  from  Myself." — viz.  ly. 


IV 

HUMAN  RESPONSIBILITY 

Our  subject  presupposes  those  of  the  two  previous  chap- 
ters and  completes  their  teaching. 

We  now  proceed  to  enquire  what  Jesus  taught  as  to  hu- 
man responsibility  in  view  of  His  Saviourhood. 

There  are  certain  preliminary  matters  which  it  is  well  we 
should  bear  in  mind.  The  first  is  that  of  the  general 
methods  of  Christ's  teaching.  As  we  read  these  Gospel 
stories,  and  listen  to  Him,  sometimes  speaking  to  vast  multi- 
tudes who  were  gathered  about  Him,  sometimes  speaking  to 
smaller  companies  of  critical  and  hostile  men  who  were 
challenging  Him,  sometimes  speaking  to  companies  yet 
smaller,  companies  of  loyal  souls,  instructing  them  in  the 
things  of  the  Kingdom  of  God ;  we  find  under  all  these  dif- 
ferent circumstances  a  consistent  method.  We  may  describe 
that  method  briefly  as  being  threefold,  that  of  annunciation, 
application,  and  appeal. 

His  teaching  was  always  that  of  the  annunciation  of  truth. 
In  the  midst  of  the  final  hours,  when  challenged  by  the 
Roman  procurator  as  to  His  Kingship,  He  made  a  signifi- 
cant claim  :  "  To  this  end  have  I  been  born,  and  to  this  end 
am  I  come  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto 
the  truth."  ' 

He  never  announced  a  truth,  however,  merely  that  men 
might  apprehend  it  intellectually.  He  always  applied  truth 
to  immediate  circumstances,  and  to  actual  needs. 

Moreover  He  never  rested  content  with  an  annunciation 
and  an  application.  There  always  rang  through  His  teach- 
*  John  xviii.  37. 


1 74  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

ing  the  note  of  appeal,  as  He  called  men  to  obey  the  things 
that  He  said. 

All  of  which  may  be  stated  in  another  way  by  declaring 
that  through  all  the  teaching  of  Christ  there  is  discoverable 
an  ethical  purpose.  He  taught  men,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  obedient  to  truth  j  and  that  by  their  obedience  to  it, 
they  might  be  conformed  to  the  will  and  the  purpose  of 
God.  Consequently  it  is  also  noticeable  in  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  that  His  objective  was  the  will.  His  avenues  of  ap- 
proach were  those  of  the  emotion  and  the  intellect.  He 
made  a  clear  statement  of  truth  that  might  be  apprehended  of 
the  intellect,  and  employed  such  methods  of  statement  as 
would  make  their  appeal  to  the  emotional  nature,  sometimes 
in  the  thunder  of  awful  denunciations,  and  sometimes  in  the 
wooing  winsomeness  of  infinite  tenderness.  But  He  never 
attempted  merely  to  satisfy  the  questioning  of  the  intellect, 
or  merely  to  move  the  emotion.  These  were  but  avenues  of 
approach,  and  He  was  forevermore  storming  the  central 
citadel  of  human  personality,  the  will ;  calling  men  by 
thunder  and  by  tears,  by  clear  intellectual  statement  and 
emotional  appeal,  to  obedience;  claimmg  that  there  must  be 
the  submission  of  the  will  to  the  truths  declared. 

From  the  mass  of  His  teaching  I  select  three  outstanding 
and  familiar  statements  which  reveal  the  nature  of  His  ap- 
peal, and  enable  us  to  understand  His  teachmg  concerning 
human  responsibility. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  our  Lord's  ministry  was  exer- 
cised, not  in  the  "midst  of  men  and  women  who,  knowing 
truth,  and  being  obedient  to  it,  were  like  the  truth,  and  of 
the  truth.  His  ministry  was  exercised  in  the  midst  of  men 
unlike  the  truth,  disobedient  to  the  revelation,  and  His 
appeal  was  made  to  those  who  had  failed.  That  appeal  is 
focused  in  the  three  passages  selected. 

The   first  is  recorded  bv  Matthew  and  Mark,  as  consti- 


Human  Responsibility  175 

tuting  the  key-note  of  His  more  public  ministry.  "  From 
that  time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and  to  say,  Repent  ye  j 
for  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.**  * 

The  second  was  spoken  in  Jerusalem  in  the  midst  of 
hostile  criticism,  when  crowds  were  following  Him,  as  He 
Himself  said,  because  He  had  fed  them  with  material  bread. 
He  rebuked  them  for  the  motive  of  their  following,  sought 
to  lift  them  on  to  higher  levels  of  consideration,  and  conse- 
quently of  conduct ;  charged  them  not  to  work  for  the  bread 
that  perishes,  but  to  work  for  the  bread  of  life.  They  an- 
swered His  charge  by  the  question,  "  What  must  we  do,  that 
we  may  work  the  works  of  God  ?  *'  and  to  that  enquiry,  in  the 
midst  of  that  critical  atmosphere.  He  replied,  "  This  is  the 
work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  Him  Whom  He  hath  sent.*** 

The  third  of  the  three  passages  is  found,  as  to  its  place  in 
the  Gospel,  in  the  chapter  immediately  following,  but  as  to 
its  chronological  place  in  the  ministry  of  Christ,  at  a  later 
period.  When  He  had  come  up  to  Jerusalem  for  that  mem- 
orable feast  of  tabernacles,  and  they  were  charging  Him 
with  bearing  testimony  to  Himself,  challenging  Him  as  to 
the  truth  of  the  Divine  authority  of  His  mission.  He  uttered 
these  very  significant  words  :  "  If  any  man  willeth  to  do  His 
will,  he  shall  know  of  the  teaching  whether  it  be  of  God ;  **  * 
and  I  emphasize  in  that  way  because  I  know  no  passage  in 
the  New  Testament  that  has  been  made  the  basis  of  more 
interesting,  and  yet  unwarranted  application  than  this. 
Many  things  are  said  in  exposition  of  these  words  which  in 
themselves  are  quite  true,  but  which  are  not  in  the  meaning 
of  the  words.  Jesus  did  not  say,  If  you  do  the  will  you  shall 
know  the  doctrine,  all  interpreters  and  expositors  notwith- 
standing. He  said,  "  If  any  man  willeth  to  do  His  will,  he 
shall  know  of  the  teaching  whether  it  be  of  GodJ** 

In  these  three  statements,  taken  out  of  the  midst  of  out 
1  Matt.  iv.  17.     Mark  i.  15.      'John  vi.  28,  29.      '  John  vii.  17. 


176  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Lord's  ministry,  we  have  a  revelation  of  human  responsi- 
bility in  the  presence  of  Himself  as  the  Revealer  of  the  will 
of  God,  and  as  the  Saviour  of  men.  In  the  first  we  find  a 
revelation  of  the  fundamental  necessity,  repentance  towards 
the  Kingdom  of  God  ;  in  the  second,  a  revelation  of  re- 
sponsibility created  by  Himself  as  the  mediating  Opportu- 
nity, faith  in  Himself;  in  the  third.  His  most  luminous  and 
wonderful  statement  as  to  the  responsibility  of  experimental 
proof;  that  men  are  to  prove  the  Divinity  of  His  teaching, 
the  Divine  authority  of  Himself  and  His  mission,  by  putting 
Him  to  the  test  by  obedience. 

Let  us  examine  these  declarations  a  little  more  particularly. 
First  we  have  His  statement  of  fundamental  necessity  m  the 
words,  "  Repent  ye;  for  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.'* 

With  these  words  the  herald  John  had  commenced  his 
ministry  ;  and  when  he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned,  and  his 
voice  was  silenced,  then  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and  to  say, 
Repent.  That  in  itself  is  suggestive.  Men  may  silence  a 
voice  by  imprisoning  a  prophet,  but  they  cannot  end  the 
ministry  of  truth.  Another  voice  will  take  up  the  same 
word,  and  now  no  longer  the  voice  of  a  herald,  but  the 
voice  of  the  King. 

The  implications  of  this  great  word  are  two,  those  of  the 
rights  of  God,  and  the  rebellion  of  man. 

There  was  a  clear  indication,  both  in  the  first  word  of 
John  and  in  the  first  word  of  Jesus,  of  the  direction  of  re- 
pentance ;  it  must  be  repentance  towards  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  Thus  at  the  commencement  of  His  mmistry,  our 
Lord  insisted  upon  the  rights  of  God.  The  deepest  pas- 
sion of  His  heart  was  a  passion  for  the  doing  of  God's  will 
in  His  own  life,  and  the  establishment  of  God's  Kingdom 
throughout  the  world  ;  He  insisted  upon  the  rights  of  God 
over  individual  life  in  its  entirety,  over  social  life  in  all  its 
inter-relationships,  over  national  life  in  its  purposes  and  its 


Human  Responsibility  177 

policies.  The  vision  ever  flaming  before  His  eyes  was  that 
of  the  Kingship  of  God,  the  rights  of  God  over  all  the  af- 
fairs of  men. 

The  second  implication  of  this  key  word  of  the  Master's 
preaching  is  that  man  is  not  living  within  that  kingdom 
consciously,  obediently  ;  that  he  is  out  of  harmony  with  the 
will  of  God.  Our  Lord  charged  the  men  of  His  own  age 
with  having  wrong  conceptions,  which  issued  in  wrong  con- 
duct, which  resulted  in  wrong  character.  He  stood  in  the 
midst  of  the  men  of  His  own  age,  and  He  said  to  them  in  effect : 
The  fundamental  necessity,  if  I  am  to  exercise  My  power  as 
Saviour,  and  to  accomplish  My  mission  in  the  world,  is  that , 
men  shall  turn  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  His  call  essentially 
was  and  is,  that  men  shall  enthrone  the  exiled  God. 

That  is  the  first  note  of  human  responsibility.  It  is 
revolutionary,  calling  for  upheaval  and  change  in  all  the  de- 
partments of  human  life.  It  is  radical  in  that  it  deals  with 
the  inspirational  sources  of  action,  rather  than  with  the  ex- 
ternal activities.  It  is  restorative  in  that  it  calls  man  to  re- 
turn to  the  true  order  of  his  own  life  and  of  his  own  being. 
It  is  the  key-note. 

There  is  no  Gospel  in  this.  John  had  no  Gospel  to 
preach ;  he  preached  repentance.  But  no  man  is  ready  for 
the  Gospel  until  he  has  heard  this ;  and  no  man  can  re- 
ceive the  benefit  which  the  Gospel  provides  until  he  has 
obeyed  this  fundamental  word.  It  there  has  been  a  lack  in 
the  evangelistic  preaching  of  recent  years,  it  has  been  that 
this  note  has  been  forgotten,  that  in  bringing  men  face  to 
face  with  their  responsibility  to  Jesus  Christ,  we  have  not 
commenced  where  He  commenced,  where  the  apostles  com- 
menced after  Pentecost,  where  every  great  revival  of  religion 
has  commenced,  with  the  need  of  repentance,  the  need  that 
is  founded  upon  the  rights  of  God  in  individual,  social,  and 
national  human  life. 


178  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

This,  then,  is  the  first  note  of  human  responsibility,  re- 
pentance  towards  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Repentance  is 
the  change  of  the  mind,  the  thinking  over  again  ;  and  the 
thinking  in  this  definite  direction.  In  this  particular  word 
that  our  Lord  made  use  of,  there  is  no  suggestion  of  sorrow, 
of  tears,  or  of  penitence.  There  was  long  controversy  be- 
tween the  Protestant  and  the  Roman  theologians  as  to  the 
difference  between  resipiscentia  and  pcsnetentia ;  Catholic 
theologians  insisting  that  what  is  necessary  is  sorrow  for 
the  past ;  Protestant  theologians  asserting  that  the  essential 
thing  is  the  change  of  mmd  towards  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  in  the  light  of  the  New  Testament 
that  the  latter  were  right.  There  will  be  sorrow  for  sin, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  initial  repentance  j  and  there  are 
men  and  women  who  for  twenty,  thirty,  and  forty  years, 
have  been  Christians,  whose  sorrow  for  sin  to-day  is  deeper 
than  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  their  Christian  life.  More- 
over there  may  be  sorrow  for  sin  without  repentance.  People 
may  mourn  and  wail  over  sin,  who  never  definitely  change 
the  mind,  and  set  the  life  towards  the  Kingdom  of  God  by 
making  that  Kingdom  the  master  conception  in  everything. 

That  a  man  must  enthrone  at  the  centre  of  his  life  the 
God  Who  has  been  exiled  therefrom  is  the  first  note  in 
Christ's  teaching  concerning  human  responsibility  m  the 
presence  of  Himself  and  His  mission  as  Saviour. 

Then  we  turn  to  the  next.  Men  asked  Him,  "  What 
must  we  do,  that  we  may  work  the  works  of  God  ?  '*  and 
His  reply  was  definite,  "  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye 
believe  on  Him  Whom  He  hath  sent."  We  are  imme- 
diately impressed  by  the  superlative  nature  of  that  claim. 
Jesus  Christ  stood  confronting  the  men  of  light  and  learn- 
ing of  His  own  age,  and  He  said  that  the  work  of  God  was 
that  they  should  believe  on  Him.  He  had  rebuked  them 
for  the  materialism  of  their  thinking,  and  their  passion,  and 


Human  Responsibility  179^ 

their  motive,  declaring  that  they  had  followed  Him,  not 
even  because  they  saw  the  sign,  but  because  they  had  been 
fed.  He  charged  them  to  lift  their  life  on  to  the  higher 
and  the  spiritual  plane,  and  to  work  for  spiritual  food,  and  they 
had  said.  What  is  the  work  of  God  ?  Having  called  them  to 
such  high  altitude  and  conception  of  life.  He  immediately 
said,  This  is  the  work  of  God  that  you  believe  on  Me. 

Thus  He  stands  before  men  as  between  them  and  God ; 
He  calls  men  to  the  Kingdom,  to  repent  towards  the  King- 
dom ;  and  when  they  come  with  enquiry  as  to  how  they 
are  to  do  this,  He  answers.  This  is  the  work  of  God  that 
you  believe  in  Me.  He  claims  in  that  word  relation  to  the 
fundamental  purpose  of  the  Kingdom;  that  the  King  is 
revealed  in  Himself,  that  the  Kingdom  is  revealed  in  Him- 
self; and  that  He  is  not  merely  the  revelation  of  the  King 
and  the  Kingdom,  but  the  Administrator  of  the  Kingdom. 
He  was  sent  from  God,  not  merely  to  show  the  glory  of 
God,  but  to  deal  with  the  rebels,  the  sinners,  the  men  who 
had  forgotten  the  Kingdom,  and  insulted  the  Throne,  and 
to  deal  with  them  for  reconciliation  and  restoration.  His 
call  is  to  belief  in  Himself;  not  to  belief  about  Him,  not 
to  belief  of  any  doctrine  or  theory  of  His  Person.  Not 
only  is  it  true  that  men  are  not  saved  by  holding  a  theory; 
it  is  equally  true  that  He  never  on  any  single  occasion  made 
it.  necessary  that  a  man  should  hold  any  theory  concerning 
Him;  but  that  men  should  believe  in  Him.  That  Greek 
preposition  eis^  with  the  accusative,  always  signifies  motion 
into;  so  that  perhaps  we  should  be  nearer  the  word  of 
Christ  if  we  read,  That  you  should  believe  into  Him  Whom 
He  hath  sent.  That  lifts  belief  far  higher  than  the  intel- 
lectual realm,  making  it  a  volitional  act  by  which  a  man 
abandons  himself  to  the  truth  of  which  he  is  convinced. 
There  are  men  who  question  as  to  whether  it  is  possible  to 
choose  their  beliefs.     There  are  senses  in  which  it  is  not 


l8o  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

No  man  can  choose  a  conviction.  He  can  choose  whethel 
he  will  act  upon  a  conviction.  Conviction  is  necessary  to 
faith;  but  faith  is  more  than  conviction;  it  is  conviction 
followed.  I  recommend  a  very  careful  study  of  Professor 
James's  essay  on  "  The  Will  to  Believe,"  ^  in  its  bearing 
on  the  fact  perpetually  insisted  upon  in  the  Bible  that  be- 
lief is  more  than  conviction,  it  is  the  activity  that  proceeds 
out  of  conviction,  and  harmonizes  with  conviction.  The 
unbelief  which  robs  a  man  of  peace,  and  power,  and  pre- 
vents him  coming  into  living  association  with  Christ  is  not 
intellectual  doubt  or  intellectual  difficulty.  The  unbelief 
that  shuts  a  man  away  from  Christ  is  that  man's  refusal  to 
act  upon  the  conviction  that  has  gripped  his  soul.  And 
consequently  the  belief  that  saves  is  an  action  of  the  will,  a 
decision  to  act  upon  a  conclusion  reached.  That  is  the 
work  of  God.  It  is  the  initial  work  of  God,  because  Christ 
was  the  Sent  of  God,  God's  new  point  of  departure  in  hu- 
man history ;  and  as  men  accept  that  fact  and  yield  to 
Him,  they  are  working  the  work  of  God.  The  Kingdom 
of  God  is  revealed  in  Christ,  as  to  its  King,  and  as  to  its 
laws  ;  and  is  administered  by  Christ  through  the  mystery 
of  His  work  for  saving  men  ;  and  as  men  believe  into  Him 
and  yield  to  Him,  they  work  the  work  of  God.  That  is 
the  action  that  brings  men  into  touch  with  all  the  redemp- 
tive forces  which  He  has  provided  for  their  remaking. 

The  final  words  meet  a  difficulty  which  is  often  presented, 
and  our  Lord  was  perfectly  clear  about  it.  It  has  to  do 
with  the  question  of  proof.  Jesus  was  in  Jerusalem,  and 
the  men  of  light  and  leadmg,  who  in  this  were  quite  sincere, 
had  listened  to  Him,  and  had  said.  Whence  hath  this  man 
the  letters,  the  grammata^  never  having  learned  ?  They 
recognized  the  note  of  the  schools  of  learning,  and  they 
said,  How  did  He  obtain  it  ?  They  were  questioning  His 
,     »  "  The  Will  to  Believe,"  First  Essay. 


Human  Responsibility  l8l 

authority,  and  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  a  scholastic 
problem.  To  that  enquiry  He  replied  :  "  My  teaching  is 
not  Mine,  but  His  that  sent  Me.  If  any  man  willeth  to  do 
His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  teaching,  whether  it  be  of 
God,  or  whether  I  speak  from  Myself.**  If  with  all  rever- 
ence I  may  change  the  words  of  Christ,  in  an  attempt  to 
interpret  the  spirit  of  them,  He  said :  You  men  who  are 
trying  to  solve  the  mystery  of  the  gramma ta  which  you  have 
detected  in  My  teaching,  hear  this ;  you  have  been  listen- 
ing, not  to  human  wisdom,  but  to  eternal  truth,  which  God 
has  given  Me  to  speak  to  men.  If  you  are  face  to  face 
with  difficulty  about  Me,  then  put  what  I  say  to  the  test  of 
doing  it;  and  if  you  will  thus  obey  the  thing  I  say,  even 
though  you  are  in  intellectual  difficulty  about  Me,  you  will 
find  that  the  thing  I  say  is  of  God,  and  not  of  Myself. 

This  is  a  supreme  word.  This  is  Christ's  challenge  to 
all  men,  men  of  scholarly  attainments,  men  of  intellectual 
difficulties,  men  who  are  holding  aloof  from  the  Christian 
fact  because  they  cannot  place  the  Christian  Saviour.  To 
all  such  He  says.  Postpone  your  discussion  concerning  My 
Person  ;  do  what  I  tell  you ;  and  in  the  doing  you  will  dis- 
cover whether  what  I  say  is  Divine  or  human.  In  effect 
Christ  says,  I  am  content  to  abide  by  that  proof  in  the  case 
of  the  human  soul. 

No  man  has  ever  accepted  that  challenge  of  Jesus  Christ 
honestly,  and  yielded  himself  to  it  completely,  without  the 
issue  being  that  presently, — not  immediately  perhaps,  for 
the  spectres  of  the  mind  are  not  laid  immediately — but  pres- 
ently, the  man  so  obeying  has  to  come  back  to  the  Christ, 
saying  with  Thomas,  "  My  Lord  and  my  God.**  ^  Only 
there  must  be  no  trifling  with  the  condition.  There  must 
be  obedience  to  the  things  He  says.  What  is  the  first  ? 
Repent  towards  the  Kingdom  of  God.  And  I  will  content 
*  John  XX.  28. 


l82  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

myself  with  that.  Christ  stands  confronting  men  and  He 
says,  Your  conceptions  are  wrong.  They  are  self-centred, 
materialized,  earthly,  mean.  Change  your  mind.  Put  God 
upon  the  throne,  believe  in  Him,  seek  His  will,  conform 
your  life  volitionally  to  His  holiness;  repent  towards  His 
government.  And  then  He,  representing  God,  calls  men 
to  trust  Him,  to  let  Him  lead  them  step  by  step,  to  let  Him 
interpret  to  them  the  meaning  of  the  will  of  God;  He  asks 
them  to  receive  from  Him,  with  the  humility  of  children, 
grace  that  will  enable  them  to  obey. 
Do  you  say 

"  Dim  tracts  of  time  divide  ?  ** 

Then  I  ask  you, 

"  Can  time  undo  what  once  was  true  ?  ** 

In  this  very  hour,  face  the  Christ,  and  say,  I  cannot  make  up 
my  mind  about  Thee,  O  Christ.  I  am  not  certain  whether 
these  theologians  and  schoolmen  and  expositors  are  right; 
but  I  am  coming  after  Thee,  to  put  Thy  teaching  to  the 
test  of  obedience.  If  you  will  do  so,  then  I  shall  meet  you 
on  some  fair  morning  in  this  world  or  the  next,  and  you  will 
say,  I  proved  Him  by  my  obedience,  and  at  last  I  crowned 
Him  my  Lord  and  my  God. 

Repentance  towards  God  ;  faith  towards  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  that  obedience  which  is  the  issue  of  repentance 
towards  God,  and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  are, 
according  to  the  teaching  of  Christ,  the  conditions  upon 
fulfillment  of  which  men  may  appropriate  the  perfect  salva- 
tion of  the  perfect  Saviour. 


V  sANCTrr¥ 


«  For  I  say  unto  you,  that  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven." — Matthew  v.  20. 

'« Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect. 
Fake  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  righteousness  before  men,  to  be  seen  of 
them :  else  ye  have  no  reward  with  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven." — 
V.  48-vi.  I. 


"  father,  the  hour  is  come  ;  glorify  Thy  Son,  that  the  Son  may  glorify 
Thee." 

"  I  manifested  Thy  name  unto  the  men  whom  Thou  gavest  Me  out  of 
the  world  :  Thine  they  were,  and  Thou  gavest  them  to  me  ;  and  they  have 
kept  Thy  word.  Now  they  know  that  all  things  whatsoever  Thou  hast 
given  Me  are  from  Thee  :  for  the  words  which  Thou  gavest  Me  I  have 
given  unto  them  ;  and  they  received  them,  and  knew  of  a  truth  that  I  came 
forth  from  Thee,  and  they  believed  that  Thou  didst  send  Me." 

"  Sanctify  them  in  the  truth  :  Thy  word  is  truth." — John  xvii.  i,6-S,  17. 


SANCTITY 

Our  theme  Is  that  of  the  teaching  of  Christ  concerning 
sanctity.  Our  Lord  had  been  speaking  to  His  disciples  in 
the  upper  room  in  view  of  His  departure,  giving  them  those 
teachings  which  we  now  speak  of  as  the  Paschal  discourses. 
Ceasing  to  teach,  He  began  to  pray;  and  in  this  seventeenth 
chapter  of  John  we  have  the  words  of  that  great  Paschal 
orayer,  offered  in  anticipation  of  the  Cross.  They  are  a 
revelation  of  His  purpose  for  the  men  whom  He  had  been 
teaching,  and  who  were  gathered  about  Him.  He  prayed 
here,  as  He  ever  prayed,  alone,  while  yet  in  their  presence. 
They  were  sinning  men,  some  of  the  men  whom  He  had 
come  to  seek  and  to  save.  He  was  to  them  the  Saviour; 
not  that  they  at  the  moment  perfectly  understood  the  mean- 
ing of  His  mission,  or  fully  apprehended  all  the  results 
thereof;  but  that  He  stood  to  them  in  His  own  purpose  and 
in  His  own  power,  in  that  sacred  relationship.  If  they 
were  sinning  men  they  were  also  men  who  had  fulfilled  the 
responsibilities  which  He  had  revealed.  They  were  men 
who  had  repented  towards  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  men 
who  had  believed  in  Him  ;  they  did  not  understand  His 
teaching  perfectly,  had  no  final  truth  in  their  mind  concern- 
ing the  mystery  of  His  Person,  and  were  certainly  quite 
ignorant  of  that  passion  towards  which  His  face  was  set,  for 
they  were  in  rebellion  against  the  very  thought  thereof. 
Nevertheless,  they  had  believed  in  Him,  and  by  that  belief 
had  appropriated  values  far  greater  than  they  themselves  did 
know  ;  and  He  prayed  for  these  men,  and  in  the  brief  words 
>f  this  particular  verse  we  have  the  ultimate  word  express- 

i8S 


i86  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

ive  of  His  desire  for  them,  "  Sanctify  them  in  the  truth  : 
Thy  word  is  truth/*  ^ 

Sanctification, — or  preferably  because  not  so  common, — 
the  word  sanctity,  already  used,  is  the  ultimate  word  in  salva- 
tion. We  have  been  considering  the  teaching  of  our  Lord 
on  these  co-related  themes  ;  sin  as  constituting  the  need  for 
salvation  ;  salvation  as  the  supply  of  that  need  in  the 
economy  of  God  ;  salvation  interpreted  by  our  Lord's  use  of 
the  word  ;  salvation  as  the  purpose  of  His  mission  in  the 
world  ;  salvation  as  to  the  human  responsibilities  which  this 
provision  creates. 

Now  we  come  to  consider  the  issue  of  salvation,  which  is 
sanctity.  That  is  the  ultimate  word  concerning  salvation. 
If  I  may  borrow  the  great  words  of  the  Roman  letter ; — 
justification,  sanctification,  and  glorification, — I  would  re- 
mind you  that  justification  is  the  root ;  glorification  will  be 
the  ultimate  fruit ;  while  the  supreme  experience  of  the 
present  life,  which  is  in  itself  a  fulfillment  of  those  condi- 
tions whereby  the  root  shall  proceed  to  the  ultimate  fruit,  is 
that  of  sanctity.  The  will  of  our  Lord  for  His  people  is 
that  they  may  live  the  life  of  sanctity,  that  they  may  know 
the  experience  of  sanctification.  These  words  of  Jesus 
constitute  a  brief  petition  in  which  we  have  our  Lord's 
teaching  concerning  sanctity  suggestively  revealed,  when  the 
petition  is  interpreted  by  the  context  of  the  whole  prayer. 
He  prayed  that  these  men  might  be  sanctified  in  the  truth, 
and  He  immediately  revealed  what  He  meant  by  His  own 
term,  "  the  truth,"  as  He  said,  "  Thy  Word  is  truth."  We 
are  led  therefore  to  enquire  what  He  meant  when  He  said, 
"  Thy  Word."  If  we  have  the  interpretation  of  the  term 
"  the  truth  "  in  the  term  "  Thy  Word,"  then  we  enquire 
what  He  meant,  when  in  that  great  prayer  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Cross,  amid  the  silence  of  the  consecrated 
*  John  xvii.  17 


Sanctity  187 

hour.  He  spoke  of  the  Word  of  God.  If  we  go  back  to  the 
earlier  part  of  the  prayer  we  shall  find  our  answer.  It  is  re- 
corded that  He  said,  "  I  manifested  Thy  name  unto  the  men 
whom  Thou  gavest  Me  out  of  the  world  :  Thine  they  were, 
and  Thou  gavest  them  to  Me  ;  and  they  have  kept  Thy 
word."  *  We  immediately  recognize  the  connection  be- 
tween the  opening  statement  of  that  verse,  and  the  closing 
one;  between  "I  have  manifested  Thy  name"  and  "They 
have  kept  Thy  word."  When  He  spoke  therefore  of  the 
truths  and  defined  it  as  being  the  Word  of  God,  He  was, 
according  to  the  interpretation  of  His  own  uttered  words, 
referring  to  that  manifestation  of  God  which  He  had  made, 
and  which  He  described  as  the  manifestation  of  the  Name. 

And  yet  again  we  have  further  light  in  the  statement : 
"  The  words  which  Thou  gavest  Me  I  have  given  unto  them ; 
and  they  received  them,  and  knew  of  a  truth  that  I  came  forth 
from  Thee,  and  they  believed  that  Thou  didst  send  Me."  ^ 

In  these  two  statements  we  have  two  expressions  of  our 
Lord,  arresting  our  attention,  and  enabling  us  to  understand 
His  thought  concerning  sanctity.  He  spoke  of  the  Word  of 
God^  and  when  He  so  spoke  He  referred  to  a  manifestation 
of  the  name  of  God^  which  He  said  He  had  given  to  these 
men.  This  is  the  great  word  with  which  we  are  familial 
through  all  the  writings  of  John,  and  indeed  through  all  our 
New  Testament,  the  word  logos^  signifying  the  unified  and 
complete  revelation  of  God  made  through  Christ  Himself. 
That,  fundamentally  and  inclusively,  is  the  truth  in  which 
He  prays  that  men  may  be  sanctified.  In  the  second  state- 
ment we  have  not  the  same  expression,  but  another  carry- 
ing another  thought  :  My  sayings,  that  is,  such  sayings  as 
make  application  of  essential  truth  in  local  particulars.  It 
when  He  spoke  of  the  Word  He  was  referring  to  the  unified 
and  inclusive  truth  ;  when  He  spoke  of  the  sayings^  He  was 
*  John  xvii.  6.  «  John  xvii.  8. 


i85  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

referring  to  the  words  which  He  had  uttered  in  application 
to  certain  human  needs. 

We  shall  understand  our  Lord's  thoughts  concerning 
sanctity  in  proportion  as  we  know  the  truth  to  which  He 
referred  when  He  prayed  that  we  might  be  sanctified  in 
the  truth.  For  that  purpose  we  shall  consider  that  matter 
under  the  twofold  division  of  the  Word  as  the  manifestation 
of  the  name ;  and  the  sayings  as  the  application  of  truth,  in- 
cluded in  the  Word,  to  the  needs  of  men. 

T"he  manifestation  of  the  name  producing  the  right  atti- 
tude to  God  issues  in  sanctity  of  being,  which  is  holiness. 
The  revelation  of  duty  producing  right  attitude  to  men 
issues  in  sanctity  of  doing,  which  is  righteousness.  Sanc- 
tity is  holiness  and  righteousness,  two  matters  which  cannot 
be  severed  ;  two  matters  which  I  sometimes  fear  we  are  in 
danger  of  severing.  On  one  hand,  I  hear  a  great  deal 
about  holiness,  with  little  reference  to  righteousness.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  necessity  for 
righteousness,  with  very  little  reference  to  holiness.  But  it 
is  impossible  that  there  ever  should  be  righteousness  which 
is  not  the  outcome  of  holiness ;  and  it  is  equally  im- 
poss,ibIe  *hat  there  should  be  any  holiness  which  is  not 
expressed  in  righteousness.  Holiness  is  rectitude  of  char- 
acter. Righteousness  is  rectitude  of  conduct.  Both  the 
ideas  3y«  related,  and  are  expressed  most  perfectly  in  the 
word  ??.nctity. 

Oui  Lord  in  this  great  prayer  uttered  His  ultimate  de- 
sire f.»f  the  sinning  men  who  by  faith  in  Him  as  Saviour 
enter  into  new  relationship  with  God.  His  desire  for 
them  <s,  that  they  may  be  sanctified  in  the  truth.  We 
turn  iVst  of  all  to  the  study  of  sanctity  of  character  by  the 
NanK;  and  secondly  to  sanctity  of  conduct  by  the  sayings, 
o'  f.ioral  system,  which  our  Lord  has  given  to  us. 

We  commence  then  with  this  first  conception  of  truth, 


Sanctity  189 

"  Thy  word  is  truth."  *  "  I  manifested  Thy  name  unto  the 
men."  ^  Now  to  understand  this  we  must  take  a  larger  outlook, 
and  remind  ourselves  of  the  method  and  system  of  this  Gospel 
according  to  John.  It  is  not  a  life  story,  a  biography.  It  is 
exactly  what  John  declared  it  to  he,  the  gathering  together  of 
certain  incidents,  of  signs  in  the  way  of  works  ;  of  teaching 
in  the  form  of  words;  which  in  their  relationship  to  each  other 
serve  to  demonstrate  the  fact  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God. 
When  that  is  borne  in  mind  we  shall  discover  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Gospel  a  key  to  the  interpretation  of 
the  revelation  which  Jesus  gave  to  us,  and  which  John 
made  clear  in  the  process  of  his  book :  "  The  law  was 
given  by  Moses  ;  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ."^ 
John  was  looking  back  to  a  past  economy,  in  order  that  he 
might  draw  attention  to  the  new  economy.  He  was  re- 
minding those  for  whom  he  wrote  his  Gospel  of  a  previous 
revelation,  of  how  the  law  came, — the  preposition  "  by  "  is 
a  very  unfortunate  one, — "  through  Moses  "  ;  and  how — for 
there  was  a  new  revelation,  not  contradicting  the  old,  but 
fulfilling  it,  explaining  it,  leading  out  its  essential  values  to 
ultimate  perfection, — "  grace  and  truth  came  through  Jesus 
Christ."  I  have  referred  to  that  key  word  in  order  that  we 
may  go  back  to  the  previous  revelation.  "  The  law  came 
by  Moses."  What  was  the  first  word  in  that  law  ?  Not 
a  moral  enactment,  but  a  revelation  of  God.  When  after 
eighty  years  of  preparation,  forty  years  in  Egypt,  and  forty 
years  in  the  magnificence  of  the  desert,  Moses  came  to  the 
hour  of  crisis,  and  was  called  to  his  great  work,  he  was 
called  by  the  mystic  symbolism  of  a  bush  that  burned  with 
fire  and  was  not  consumed,  and  by  a  revelation  of  the  God 
Who  dwelt  in  the  bush.  As  this  man  Moses,  of  reverent 
habit  and  demeanour,  who  had  learned  deep  secrets  from 
Nature  during  the  forty  years  of  his  shepherd  life,  drew 
*  John  xvii.  17c  '  Ibid.,  xvii.  6.  ^  Jbid.,  i.  17. 


IQO  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

near  to  the  unusual  sight  of  a  bush  burning  with  fire  and 
yet  not  consumed,  a  voice  said  to  him,  "  Draw  not  nigh 
hither:  put  off  thy  shoes  from  ofF  thy  feet,  for  the  place 
whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground."  *  Then  God  re- 
vealed Himself  to  him  by  a  name  ;  and  this  is  the  name,  a 
name  which  is  an  announcement  of  revelation,  imperfect,  in- 
complete, "  I  AM  "  ;  and  as  it  appeared  as  though  something 
were  to  be  added  to  the  essential  word,  by  way  of  revelation, 
the  word  recoiled  upon  itself.  "  I  am,  that  I  am."  ^  The 
law  came  through  the  man  who  had  received  that  revelation. 
Now  I  take  up  this  Gospel  according  to  John,  and  hav- 
ing read  that  key  word,  "  The  law  came  by  Moses ;  grace 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ,"  I  find  that  its  supreme 
value  is  not  its  revelation  of  an  ethical  code,  but  its  revela- 
tion of  a  name,  its  revelation  of  how  through  this  new 
Messenger  of  the  covenant,  the  very  Son  of  God  Himself, 
the  name  was  proclaimed  ;  and  this  prayer  of  Jesus  bears 
witness  to  the  truth  of  that  assertion,  for  in  the  final  pray- 
ing He  said  to  His  Father,  "  I  have  manifested  Thy  name." 
What  then  is  the  name  ?  That  name  is  revealed  in  the  course 
of  the  discourses  of  Jesus,  some  of  them  careful  and  con- 
tinued, some  of  them  fragmentary  and  incidental,  in  which 
we  find  great  words,  characterized  at  once  by  sublimity  and 
simplicity.  The  words  to  which  I  refer  are  those  in  which 
He  took  again  the  word  that  had  been  spoken  incompletely 
from  the  splendour  of  the  burning  bush,  "  I  AM,"  and  com- 
pleted the  revelation,  "  I  am  the  Bread  of  life,"  ^  "  I  am  the 
light  of  the  world,"  ^  "  I  am  the  Door,"  ^  "  I  am  the  good 
Shepherd,"  ^  "  I  am  the  resurrection,  and  the  life,"  '  "  I  am 
the  way,  and  the  truth, and  the  life,"^  "  I  am  the  true  Vine."' 
Thus  He  linked  the  sublime  declaration  of  essential  Being 

1  Exod.  iii.  5.  * /did.,  viu.  12.  '  Hid.,  xi.  25. 

^/iid.,  iii.  14.  «  /did,  x.  9.  8  JSid.,  xiv.  d 

'John  vi.  35.  «  /6id.,-x.  lU  »  liid.^  xv.  1. 


Sanctity  191 

to  symbols  so  full  of  simplicity  that  all  our  children  love 
them  ;  the  simplest  words  of  human  speech.  "  I  am  "  i 
the  formula  of  the  fundamental  fact  in  the  nature  of  Deity, 
that  God  is  the  Self-existent  One,  without  beginning  and 
without  support  other  than  that  within  His  own  Being ; 
Jesus  linked  to  every-day  symbols  ; — bread,  light,  a  door,  a 
shepherd,  a  resurrection,  a  way.^  a  vine.  When  His  min- 
istry of  teaching  was  complete,  the  One  Who  had  uttered 
these  words  came  into  the  presence  of  the  Father,  Who 
bears  the  essential  and  eternal  name,  and  He  said  :  "  I  have 
manifested  Thy  name  unto  these  men." 

That  manifestation  may  thus  be  summarized  : 

"  I  am  the  bread  of  life."  ^  God  Himself  as  the  very 
bread  of  life  to  man. 

"  I  am  the  light  of  the  world  ;  **  ^  God  Himself  as  the 
illumination  of  man's  life  and  pathway. 

"  I  am  the  door."  ^    Go'^  HimseK  as  the  safety  of  His  people. 

"  I  am  the  good  Shepherd."  God  Himself  as  the  Love 
that  cares  for  His  people. 

"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life."  ^  God  Himself  as 
the  power  by  which  men  shall  come  to  the  consummation 
of  purpose,  and  that  in  spite  of  the  tragedy  of  death  which 
results  from  their  sin. 

"  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life  ; "  ^  God 
Himself  as  the  very  pathway  or  course  in  which  men  shall 
proceed  in  order  to  the  fulfillment  of  that  purpose. 

"  I  am  the  vine."  ^  God  Himself  in  intimate  association 
with  men,  making  their  ministry,  perfecting  them,  and 
enabling  them  to  fulfill  high  and  holy  service. 

This  was  the  sevenfold  unveiling  of  the  Name,  and  we 
at  once  discover  its  value  to  men.  "I  am  the  bread  of 
life  " — that  is,  ability  at  the  disposal  of  men.     "  I  am  the 

*  John  vi.  35,         3  Ibid.,  x.  9.  » Ibid.y  xi.  25.         '  Ibid.^  xv.  I. 

'  Ibid.,  viii.  12.      *  Ibid.^  x.  Ii.        «  Ibid.^  xiv.  6. 


192  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

light" — that  is,  light  or  direction  upon  the  pathway  for 
men.  "  I  am  the  door  " — that  is,  love,  perfect  safety  for 
men  folded  within  the  enclosure.  "  I  am  the  good  Shep- 
herd " — that  is,  care,  and  perfect  rest  for  all  hearts  who  trust 
in  Him.  "  I  am  the  resurrection  " — that  is,  consummation, 
hope  upon  the  darkest  day  of  sorrow  and  bereavement.  "  I 
am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life  "  ;  that  is  the  course 
or  the  pathway  of  the  pilgrimage,  and  consequent  confidence 
even  when  the  sun  is  blotted  out  of  the  heavens.  "  I  am  the 
true  vine  ";  that  is  provision  for  ministry  or  service,  discipline 
and  purging,  in  order  that  much  fruit  may  be  brought  forth. 

Such  was  the  manifestation  of  the  name,  and  in  every  case 
it  was  manifestation  through  Himself.  In  every  case  He 
was,  in  human  guise  and  form  and  fashion,  the  unveiling  of 
Deity ;  and  as  men  touched  the  warm  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man 
they  were  thrilled  by  contact  with  God  through  the  Son  of 
God.  And  now  at  the  end  He  said,  "  I  have  manifested  Thy 
name."  .  .  .  "I  have  given  them  Thy  word  .  , 
sanctify  them  in  the  truth  :  Thy  word  is  truth."  And  of 
these  men  He  said,  "  They  have  kept  Thy  word" — that  is, 
they  have  kept  it  in  view,  they  have  observed  it. 

What,  then,  is  this  picture  of  sanctity  ?  It  is  that  of 
sanctity  of  character  by  the  Name.  This  revelation  pro- 
duces love  in  the  heart  of  a  believer;  love  inspires  obedience 
to  the  things  revealed  ;  and,  almost  without  consciousness  at 
first,  when  the  revelation  has  inspired  love,  and  love  has  in- 
spired obedience,  character  becomes  holy,  because  the  life  is 
adjusted  to  the  truth  concerning  God.  Holiness  is  not 
something  which  we  can  accurately  designate  by  the  imper- 
sonal pronoun  it.  Holiness  of  character  is  the  attitude  of 
life  adjusted  towards  God  m  response  to  the  revelation  of 
the  Name  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

We  now  pass  to  the  second  matter;  sanctity  of  conduct 
in  response  to  the  sayings  of  Jesus.     All  the  things  to  which 


Sanctity  193 

we  have  referred  constitute  the  inclusive,  unified,  final  reve- 
lation. He  is  the  I  am.  Now^  out  of  the  "  I  am  "  of  Jesus 
came  His  sayings.  Sayings  are  component  parts  of  the 
vi^hole,  uttered  for  the  instruction  of  individual  lives,  and 
social  conditions,  and  immediate  requirements.  Christ  in 
Himself  is  the  full  and  final  Truth;  and  even  if  He  had 
never  uttered  a  precept  or  a  maxim,  He  had  uttered  all  Truth 
in  Himself.  Nevertheless  because  of  the  frailty  of  human 
life  and  the  finiteness  of  the  human  mind.  He,  the  essential 
Truth,  did  speak  in  sayings,  in  maxims,  in  instructions;  and 
the  supreme  collection  is  to  be  found,  not  in  John's  Gospel, 
but  in  Matthevi^'s,  in  the  Manifesto.  The  Manifesto  is  less 
than  the  King ;  all  truth  is  not  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ; 
but  it  is  in  the  One  Who  uttered  it.  But  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  must  be  uttered  in  order  that  I  may  be  helped  in  my 
desire  to  obey  the  truth,  the  revelation  of  which  has  called  me 
to  the  character  of  holiness,  in  order  that  I  may  express  the 
character  of  holiness  in  the  conduct  of  righteousness.  He 
spoke  in  sayings,  in  words,  in  moral  and  ethical  terms ;  and  if 
we  would  understand  what  the  sayings  of  Jesus  are,  then  we 
must  take  the  whole  of  the  Manifesto,  and  study  it  carefully. 

There  are  two  master  principles  which  occur  in  the  midst 
of  it :  "Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven  '* ; '  "  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect, 
as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect."  ^  Gathered  around  these 
two  principles,  are  words  of  direct  and  immediate  applica- 
tion;  conditioning  individual  life,  and  social  life;  and  re- 
vealing the  moral  standards  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Take  the  first.  "  Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed 
the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees."  The  con- 
textual interpretation  shows  that  this  is  Tightness  towards 
men  and  the  affairs  of  this  life,  as  the  outcome  of  right  re- 
1  Matt.  V.  20.  *  Matt.  v.  48. 


194  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

lationship  with  God.  The  failure  of  the  righteousness  or 
scribes  and  Pharisees  is  revealed  in  an  incidental  saying  ot 
Jesus  in  the  course  of  the  Manifesto :  "  Take  heed  that  ye 
do  not  your  righteousness  before  men,  to  be  seen  of  them."  ' 
That  is  an  illuminative  word,  it  is  a  startling  word.  Bring 
the  ordinary  morality  of  the  world  into  the  light  of  that  word, 
and  it  stands  condemned.  Rightness,  in  order  that  we  may 
be  thought  well  of  by  men,  is  condemned  in  the  Christian 
economy,  not  in  itself,  but  as  being  relatively  worthless. 
There  is  a  vast  amount  of  morality  which  is  conditioned  by 
the  presence  of  the  policeman ;  and  there  is  still  a  vaster 
amount  of  morality,  on  a  higher  level  judged  by  the  ordinary 
standards  of  human  life,  which  is  conditioned  by  pride.  It 
is  very  valuable  for  all  merely  material  purposes,  but  it  is 
condemned.  Honesty  is  the  best  policy  !  But  the  man 
who  is  honest  merely  because  it  is  politic  to  be  honest  is  a 
rogue  and  a  rascal  at  heart.  That  is  the  righteousness  which 
the  Lord  condemned  ;  the  righteousness  which  is  done  to  be 
seen  of  men.  What,  then,  is  the  righteousness  that  He  m- 
culcated  ?  The  righteousness  which  is  done  to  be  seen  of 
God ;  to  please  God  whether  men  understand  or  not ;  whether 
It  shall  please  men  or  not.  His  illustrations  are  as  remarkable 
as  His  ideal.  Alms  are  to  be  given,  and  prayer  is  to  be  offered 
privately  ;  and  in  fasting  men  are  to  go  amid  the  crowds  as 
though  they  had  beep  to  a  feast,  with  brightness  upon  their 
faces. 

The  second  principle  is  expressed  in  the  words,  "  Ye 
therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  per- 
fect.'* We  must  not  interfere  with  that  saying  of  Jesus, 
Some  people  are  terribly  afraid  of  criticism,  higher  or  lower, 
but  they  indulge  in  it  for  themselves  when  they  read  that 
word.  Let  us  interpret  the  text  in  relation  to  its  context. 
When  did  He  say  it  ?  Immediately  after  He  had  said 
» Matt.  vi.  I. 


Sanctity  195 

*'  Love  your  enemies."  The  second  principle  of  man's 
relationship  to  his  fellow  men  is  that  he  is  to  act  towards 
them  by  likeness  to  God  in  love.  The  command  is  thus 
superlative,  rather  than  minimized  by  its  connection  with 
the  command  to  love  our  enemies. 

This  is  sanctity  of  conduct.  Love  for  the  Lord  inspires 
us  to  receive  His  word,  to  accept  it  as  authoritative,  as  final ; 
and  the  reception  of  the  word  thus  expresses  itself  in  obedi- 
ence, which  is  conduct  love-impulsed.  Thus  righteousness 
is  life  adjusted  to  the  truth  about  God,  expressing  itself  in 
conduct  towards  men. 

"  Sanctify  them  in  the  truth  :  Thy  word  is  truth.'*  This 
is  the  word  which  He  gave  ;  the  manifestations  of  the  Name, 
the  sayings  which  He  uttered;  these  constitute  the  moral  code 
which  men  must  obey.  "  Sanctify  them  in  the  truth."  That 
was  His  prayer.  And  His  estimate  of  sanctification  is  that 
holiness  of  character  which  results  from  the  soul  responsive 
to  God  as  revealed  in  Christ ;  and  that  righteousness  of  con- 
duct which  grows  from  such  character,  the  expression  of 
relationship  to  God  in  a  man's  dealings  with  his  fellow  men. 

Finally  this  teaching  was  included  in  a  prayer.  He  was 
praying  for  these  men,  and  in  the  selfsame  prayer  He  prayed 
for  us.  "  Neither  for  these  only  do  I  pray,  but  for  them 
also  that  believe  on  Me  through  their  word."  ■  We  are  of 
that  host  and  company  who  have  believed  through  the 
apostolic  word.  The  ultimate  value  of  His  prayer  is  found 
in  the  opening  words,  "  Father,  the  hour  is  come."  What 
hour  ?  And  again  there  need  not  be  and  must  not  be  any 
speculation.  Throughout  this  Gospel  according  to  John, 
that  hour  is  constantly  referred  to.  When  His  mother  came 
to  Him  at  the  first  sign,  He  said,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to 
do  with  thee  ?  Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come."  ^  They  could 
not  arrest  Him  "because   His  hour  was  not  yet  come." ^ 

»  John  xvii.  20.  «  md,^  ji.  4,  »  Ibid.,  viii.  2a 


196  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

At  last,  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  Cross,  He  said, 
"  Father,  the  hour  is  come,  glorify  Thy  Son,  that  the  Son 
may  glorify  Thee."  ' 

The  hour  was  the  hour  of  His  passion.  He  was  praying 
first  for  continued  fellowship  on  the  part  of  His  Father  with 
Himself  in  that  ultimate  darkness  of  the  Cross,  and  the 
victory  of  the  resurrection  that  lay  beyond  ;  and  in  that 
prayer  He  uttered  this  petition.  That  first  petition  of  the 
prayer  was  answered.  His  Father  glorified  Him  by  raising 
Him  from  among  the  dead,  by  completing  the  Exodus  j  and 
now  we  can  go  through  that  answer  of  death  and  resurrec- 
tion in  the  person  of  our  Lord  Himself,  and  therefore  sanc- 
tity is  possible  to  us.  Had  there  been  none  other  than  the 
manifestation  of  the  name  in  a  life,  and  the  uttering  of  the 
law  in  precepts,  I  should  have  closed  the  book  and  should 
have  said.  The  ideal  Is  stupendous  and  marvellous,  but  I  can 
never  attain  unto  it.  But  the  One  Who  manifested  the 
name,  the  One  Who  uttered  the  moral  code,  was  glorified 
in  the  mystery  of  death  and  resurrection  ;  and  placed  all  His 
resources  at  the  disposal  of  sinful  men,  that  they  might  live 
the  life  of  sanctity,  that  they  might  turn  to  God,  and  their 
life  be  adjusted  to  Him  in  holiness  ;  that  in  the  power  ot 
such  adjustment  they  might  turn  back  to  the  affairs  of  every- 
day life,  in  ofiice  and  mart  and  shop  and  household,  and 
wherever  they  may  be,  to  live  towards  men  in  love,  in  an- 
swer to  the  impulse  of  the  life  adjusted  towards  God,  which 
is  the  life  of  righteousness. 

>  John  xvii.  1. 


C.    THE  TEACHING  OF  CHRIST 
CONCERNING  THE  KINGDOM 
OF  GOD 

1.    THE  FUNDAMENTAL  CONCEPTION 


«•  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and  to  say,  Repent  ye  ;  for  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand," — Matthew  iv.  ly, 

"  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven.  Hallowed  be  Thy  name.  Thy 
Kingdom  come.     Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  heaven^  so  on  earth." — vi.  9,  10. 

"Seek  ye  first  His  Kingdom,  and  His  righteousness;  and  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  you. " — vi.  jj. 

"  The  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." — x.  7. 

"Art  Thou  He  that  cometh,  or  look  we  for  another?  And  Jesus  an- 
swered and  said  unto  them,  Go  your  way  and  tell  John  the  things  which 
ye  do  hear  and  see  :  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the 
lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and 
.he  poor  have  good  tidings  preached  to  them." — xi.  j-j. 

"  From  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  until  now  the  Kingdom  of  heaven 
suffereth  violence,  and  men  of  violence  take  it  by  force." — xL  12. 

"  If  I  by  the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out  devils,  then  is  the  Kingdom  of  God 
come  upon  you," — xii.  28. 


**  The  time  is  fulfilled,  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand  :  repent  ye, 
and  believe  in  the  Gospel." — Mark  i.  75. 


"The  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you." — Luke  x.  g. 


"Nicodemus  came  unto  Him  by  night,  and  said  to  Him,  Rabbi,  we 
know  that  Thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God  :  for  no  man  can  do  these 
signs  that  Thou  doest,  except  God  be  with  him.  Jesus  answered,  and  said 
unto  him.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  anew,  he 
cannot  see  the  Kingdom  of  God,  Nicodemus  saith  unto  Him,  How  can 
a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  Can  he  enter  a  second  time  into  his 
mother's  womb,  and  be  born  ?  Jesus  answered,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God," — ^okn  in.  2-j. 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  no  more  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine, 
until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  in  the  Kingdom  of  God." — xiv.  2j. 


THE  FUNDAMENTAL  CONCEPTION 

The  vastness  of  this  subject  will  at  once  be  recognized, 
and  its  immediate  interest  conceded.  To  deal  with  it  ex- 
haustively is  not  my  purpose,  but  rather  to  survey  the  teach* 
ing  in  outline,  by  grouping  and  considering  the  actual  words 
of  our  Lord,  Some  of  the  aspects  with  which  I  shall  deal 
will  be  :  the  fundamental  conception  ;  some  different  phases 
of  the  one  fact,  as  they  are  unified  in  Himself;  His  view  of 
the  existing  anarchy;  the  redemptive  processes  which  He  re- 
vealed,— the  Cross,  the  Church,  the  Conflict,  the  Crisis  of 
the  second  Advent;  and  His  revelation  of  final  realization. 

We  commence,  then,  with  the  fundamental  conception. 
The  subject  is  one  of  immediate  interest.  The  attention  of 
many  is  being  turned  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  much 
that  is  of  very  great  value  has  been  written  thereon  during 
recent  years.  In  this  process  of  reconsideration  and  re- 
statement certain  things  have  been  said  from  which  person- 
ally I  should  very  profoundly  differ,  while  I  respect  those 
who  have  said  them.  There  have  been  those  who  have  de- 
clared that  we  must  return  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus  concern- 
ing the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  abandon  the  apostolic  teach- 
ing concerning  the  Church.  The  idea  of  the  Kingdom  and 
that  of  the  Church  have  thus  been  put  into  opposition  to 
each  other.  It  has  been  affirmed  that  the  conception  of 
the  Church,  as  we  know  it,  is  Pauline,  and  that  Paul  iii 
some  measure  departed  from  the  ideals  of  Jesus ;  and  we 
have  been  urged,  in  the  light  of  that  interpretation,  to  get 
back  to  Christ.     Now  our  present  line  of  study  will  not 

199 


zoo  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

bring  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  alleged  difference  be- 
tween Paul  and  Christ}  but  we  shall  see  where  Christ 
placed  the  Church  in  regard  to  the  Kingdom. 

That  is  only  a  passing  illustration.  The  interesting  fact 
is  that  at  the  present  hour  there  is  a  new  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject ;  a  new  enquiry,  a  new  criticism,  a  new  attempt  to  re- 
state. What  is  meant  by  the  Kingdom  of  God  ?  How 
far  are  we  responsible  for  it  ?  How  far  are  we  realizing  it  ? 
How  far  is  it  possible  to  realize  it  ?  My  desire  in  thus  in- 
dicating the  atmosphere  of  the  moment  is  to  emphasize  the 
immediate  interest  of  our  theme. 

The  fundamental  conception  will  be  considered  in  two 
ways  :  first,  by  observing  that  the  Kingdom  of  God, — what- 
ever may  be  meant  by  the  phrase, — was  most  evidently 
fundamental  to  the  doing  and  the  teaching  of  Jesus  ;  and 
secondly,  by  attempting  to  discover  the  idea  that  was  central 
to  His  mind  as  He  used  the  term. 

P'irst,  then,  the  Kingdom  was  fundamental  in  the  doing 
and  the  teaching  of  our  Lord.  This  hardly  needs  proof- 
Whether  we  consider  the  teaching  that  was  public,  ol 
private,  the  teaching  that  was  systematic,  or  incidental ;  we 
find  running  through  the  whole  of  it,  like  fl-^shes  of  light, 
this  word  Kingdom  and  its  cognate  phrases.  To  summarize 
mathematically  and  briefly  :  in  the  Gospel  according  to 
Matthew  I  find  the  word  Kingdom  recorded  as  passing  His 
lips  forty-seven  times  ;  in  Mark,  thirteen  ;  in  Luke,  thirty- 
one  ;  and  in  John,  five.  In  this  connection  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  John  used  another  phrase,  which  is  reallj 
the  equivalent  of  Kingdom.  His  phrase  was  "  eternal  life,'* 
a  phrase  emphasizing  the  power  and  result  of  the  Divine 
Kingship,  as  the  other  phrases  indicate  its  fact,  and  deal 
with  its  applications. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  cover  all  the  ground  ;  but  there 
are   certain    outstanding    facts    at   which  we  will   glance 


The  Fundamental  Conception  2oi 

These  we  will  group  around  the  words  I  have  already  bor- 
rowed from  the  second  treatise  of  Luke,  the  doing  and  the 
teaching  of  Jesus.  I  shall  of  course  deal  especially  with  the 
teaching,  but  must  also  make  a  brief  reference  to  the  fact 
that  His  doing  was  equally  based  upon  this  fundamental 
conception. 

The  first  recorded  teaching  of  Jesus  which  can  be  at  all 
described  as  systematic  is  found  in  the  Gospel  of  John.  It 
was  given  to  an  individual,  Nicodemus.  A  ruler  among  his 
people,  he  came  to  Jesus  and  said,  "  Rabbi,  we  know  that 
Thou  art  a  Teacher  come  from  God  :  for  no  man  can  do 
these  signs  that  Thou  doest,  except  God  be  with  Him." 
To  him  the  Master  said,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  anew,  he 
cannot  see  the  Kingdom  of  God."  When  in  amazement 
the  ruler  replied,  "  How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  " 
our  Lord  explicitly  replied,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  ot 
water  and  the  Spirit  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
God."  *  The  first  account  of  our  Lord's  coming  face  to 
face  in  peiaonal  dealing  with  an  inquiring  soul  records  His 
assumption  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  the  matter  of  supreme 
moment.  The  moment  He  began  to  deal  with  one  man  who 
was  inquiring  for  the  final  light,  His  recognition  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  manifest. 

Then  observe  that  when  He  commenced  His  more  pub- 
lic, definite,  and  systematic  propaganda  in  Galilee,  both  Mat- 
thew and  Mark  declare  that  this  was  the  key-note  of  His 
preaching.  He  "  began  to  preach,  and  to  say.  Repent  ye, 
for  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  ^  His  call  was  to 
repentance,  and  the  immediate  reason  was  that  the  King- 
dom of  heaven  was  at  hand. 

Matthew  and  Mark,  in  chronicling  that  key-note  to  the 
ministry  of  our  Lord,  used  different  phrases.  Matthew  re- 
ported Kim  as  saying,  '*  The  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
^  John  iii.  2-5.  *MatL  iv.  17.     Mark  1 15. 


202  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

hand  "  ;  *  while  Mark  recorded  the  words  thus, "  The  King- 
dom of  God  is  at  hand."  ^  Thus  at  the  very  commence- 
ment of  our  study,  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  these 
two  phrases,  and  to  base  any  particular  doctrine  upon  the 
difference  is  entirely  unwarranted.  The  phrase  our  Lord 
most  commonly  used  vi^as  that  of  "  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,'* 
and  Mark's  change  is  a  revelation  of  the  simple  and  natural 
way  in  which  these  stcries  are  told.  It  is  certainly  true  that 
our  Lord  did  use  the  phrase,  the  Kingdom  of  God.  In  our 
study  of  His  teaching  w^  shall  make  no  difference  between 
these  two  phrases.     They  are  mutually  interpretative. 

Presently  He  commissioned  and  sent  forth  twelve  men  j 
and  yet  later,  seventy.  In  each  commission  the  principal 
work  allotted  to  them  was  in  the  interest  of  the  Kingdom ; 
^'Preach,  saying,  The  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand";' 
"  Say  unto  them,  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto 
you."  ' 

In  the  parabolic  teachmg  of  the  Lord,  the  fact  that  this 
conception  was  fundamental  is  strikingly  revealed.  We 
have  twenty-nine  parables  recorded  in  the  New  Testament. 
Of  these,  seventeen  definitely  mention  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  and  are  declared  to  be  in  expos-tion  of  it.  Those  in 
ihe  thirteenth  chapter  of  Matthew, — the  Sower,  the  Darnel, 
the  Mustard  Seed,  the  Leaven,  the  hidden  Treasure,  the 
Pearl,  the  Drag-net,  and  the  Householder  specifically  deal 
with  the  subject.  And  beyond  those,  we  have  the  parables 
of  the  unmerciful  Servant,  the  Labourers  in  the  Vineyard,  the 
Two  Sons  in  the  Vineyard,  the  wicked  Husbandmen,  the 
royal  Marriage  Feast,  the  ten  Virgins,  the  Talents,  the  Seed 
growing  secretly,  and  the  Pounds  ; — all  of  them  definitely 
and  explicitly  parables  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  heaven, 
or  the  Kingdom  of  God.     If  we  turn  to  the  other  twelve 

1  Matt.  iv.  17.  '  Matt.  x.  7. 

•  Mark  i.  15.  *  Luke  x.  o. 


The  Fundamental  Conception  203 

we  find,  although  the  word  Kingdom  may  not  occur  in 
them,  in  more  than  half  of  them  the  context  reveals  the  fact 
that  tbey  are  related  to  the  thought  of  the  Kingdom  ;  and  in 
the  w*iole  of  them  the  Kingdom  conception  is  the  master 
idea.  Whenever  He  uttered  a  parable,  in  His  own  mind 
ther«i  was  the  vision  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  great  systematic  discourses  of 
Jesus.  In  that  which  we  call  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
the  Manifesto  of  the  King,  the  ethic  is  patently  that  of  His 
Fungdom.  Those  parables  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
jMatthew,  which  He  delivered  partly  to  the  multitudes  and 
partly  to  His  own  disciples,  are  a  revelation  of  the  processes 
of  the  Kingdom  through  a  certain  period.  In  the  great 
prophecies  uttered  on  Olivet  the  master  thought  is  still  that 
of  the  Kingdom.  In  His  last  conversation  with  the  dis- 
ciples in  the  upper  room,  before  the  agony  of  Gethsemane 
and  Calvary,  when  He  mstituted  the  new  ordinance.  He 
said, — it  was  but  an  allusion,  but  it  is  significant, — "  I  will 
no  more  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when 
I  drink  it  new  in  the  Kingdom  of  God."  *  Thus  it  is  seen 
that  the  final  realization  of  all  things,  towards  which  He 
looked  under  the  shadow  of  the  Cross,  the  light  and  the 
glory  that  lay  beyond,  was  the  coming  Kingdom  of  God. 
When  we  turn  from  the  Gospels  themselves  to  the  last 
paragraph  of  history  concerning  Him  ere  His  ascension,  in 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Acts,  we  find  that  after  His  resurrec- 
tion He  was  seen  for  many  days,  during  which  He  was  giving 
His  disciples  instructions  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

So  that  from  the  first  note  of  systematic  teaching,  through 
all  methods, — parabolic,  systematic,  incidental ;  to  the  last 
hour  of  anticipation,  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  in  His  mind. 

His  doing  was  a  further  revelation  of  the  fact,  which 
may  now  be  dismissed  by  three  references.  When  John 
*  Mark  xiv.  25. 


204  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

was  cast  into  prison  he  was  puzzled  and  perplexed  by  the 
method  that  Jesus  was  adopting,  and  he  sent  his  disciples  to 
Him,  asking,  "  Art  Thou  He  that  cometh,  or  look  we  for 
another  ?  "  Our  Lord  replied,  "  Go  your  way  and  tell  John 
the  things  which  ye  do  hear  and  see :  the  blind  receive 
their  sight  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and 
the  deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have 
good  tidings  preached  to  them."  *  As  they  departed  to  bear 
His  message  He  said  to  the  people,  "  The  Kingdom  of 
heaven  sufFereth  violence,  and  men  of  violence  take  it  by 
force."  ^  The  connection  of  His  declaration  with  the 
message  He  sent  to  John  must  be  patent.  John  looked  for 
the  Kingdom,  but  he  could  not  understand  the  method  of 
the  King.  He  seemed  to  be  doing  nothing.  He  was 
gathering  no  army.  He  was  making  no  proclamation.  He 
was  calling  together  no  parliament  of  men.  He  was  simply 
walking  about,  healing  a  few,  speaking  to  individuals  and 
companies  of  men.  When  the  disciples  of  John  came  ask- 
ing Him  if  He  were  the  King,  or  were  they  to  look  for 
another,  He  said  in  effect,  Go  and  tell  John  that  these  things 
are  the  things  of  the  Kingdom.  I  am  at  work  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  Kingdom.  I  am  manifesting  the  powers  of 
the  Kingdom.  I  am  preparing  for  the  coming  of  the  King- 
dom. Then  to  the  multitudes  He  declared  that  only  men 
who  do  violence  to  their  own  prejudices  will  enter  that 
Kingdom.  Thus  He  revealed  the  fact  that  all  the  works 
of  healing  and  mercy  were  works  of  the  Kingdom,  and 
works  for  the  Kingdom. 

When  the  Pharisees  declared  that  He  cast  out  demons 
by  the  power  of  Beelzebub,  He  said,  "  If  I  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  cast  out  devils,  then  is  the  Kingdom  of  God  come 
upon  you."^  It  was  but  an  incidental  reference,  yet  it 
revealed  the  fact  that  when  He  cast  demons  out.  He  realized 
1  Matt,  xi.  3-5.  ^  Ibid.y  xi.  12.  ^  Jbid.,  xii,  28. 


The  Fundamental  Conception  205 

that  He  was   making  possible  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the 
case  of  the  individual,  and  of  society. 

Again  there  came  a  day  when  the  people  of  Siloam 
brought  their  children  to  Jesus,  and  the  disciples  bade  them 
depart.  He  rebuked  the  disciples,  and  He  did  it  angrily. 
Mark  tells  us  quite  definitely  that  He  was  moved  with 
indignation.  But  what  was  His  argument  for  permitting  the 
children  to  come  ?  "  Of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  God."  * 
So  that  whether  He  accounted  for  His  works  to  a  perplexed 
prophet,  or  defended  His  method  to  the  critical  and  unbeliev- 
ing Pharisees,  or  welcomed  the  children,  the  reason  underly- 
ing everything  in  His  own  mind  was  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Thus  it  is  patent  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  His 
chief  concern,  His  constant  inspiration.  His  abiding  pur- 
pose, and  His  all-sufficient  power.  Follow  Him  through 
all  the  days  of  His  public  ministry,  listen  to  every  word 
that  fell  from  His  lips,  accompany  Him  upon  every  journe^i 
that  He  took,  watch  every  action  of  beneficence  or  of 
judgment;  and  in  the  light  of  the  things  He  Himself  said^ 
it  becomes  apparent  that  the  reason  for  all  speech  and  all 
action,  for  all  journeys  and  all  tarryings,  for  all  pity  and  all 
anger,  was  the  Kingdom  of  God.  It  was  the  master  pas- 
sion of  His  life,  the  fundamental  conception  of  all  His 
teaching  and  all  His  doing. 

So  we  may  pass  to  our  second  enquiry.  What  was  this 
idea  which  was  so  patently  central  to  His  mind  as  He 
taught  and  wrought  ?  The  terms.  Kingdom  of  heaven, 
Kingdom  of  God,  were  in  common  use  in  our  Lord's  day 
in  the  Rabbinical  teachings.  These  terms,  or  their  equiva- 
lents, are  found  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  There- 
fore when  our  Lord  made  use  of  these  terms,  men  were 
very  familiar  with  them.  We  are  familiar  with  them  be* 
cause  to-day  they  are  peculiarly  Christian  terms. 
^  Mark  x.  14. 


2o6  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

The  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  crystallized  into  a  term, 
emerges  in  Exodus.  Its  first  appearance  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures  is  when  God  said,  through  Moses,  to  His 
ancient  people,  "Ye  shall  be  unto  Me  a  Kingdom  of 
priests."  '  It  appears  again  in  the  second  book  of  Samuel, 
in  the  story  of  David's  desire  to  build  a  temple.^  We  find 
it  again  in  the  books  of  the  Chronicles  twice  over.^  The 
term  is  found  in  the  books  of  the  Psalms  six  times.^  It  is 
mentioned  by  the  prophets  Isaiah,^  Micah,^  and  Obadiah,' 
and  it  is  the  very  burden  of  that  strange  and  wonderful 
book  of  Daniel.  So  that  the  terms  our  Lord  made  use  of 
were  familiar  in  Rabbinical  teachings,  and  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  they  were  incorporated  in  the  Scriptures  ;  but  to 
neither  Rabbinical  teaching  nor  Old  Testament  Scriptures 
must  we  go  for  interpretation  of  His  meaning.  The 
Rabbinical  teachings  He  largely  contradicted.  He  did  not 
contradict  the  teachings  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  He 
corrected  misinterpretations  of  them,  and  He  fulfilled  them. 
When  therefore  we  desire  to  know  what  our  Lord  really 
meant,  we  have  but  one  court  of  appeal.  His  own  teachings. 
The  very  last  story  to  which  I  have  made  reference,  the 
first  paragraph  in  the  Acts,  reveals  the  fact  that  after  cruci- 
fixion and  resurrection  His  disciples  were  in  entire  igno- 
rance of  all  the  deep  content  of  the  phrase  with  which  they 
were  so  familiar,  and  it  was  necessary  that  He  should  give 
them  their  immediate  work,  and  leave  them  waiting  for  fuller 
explanation  after  the  Pentecostal  efl^usion. 

Let  us  then  first  take  the  terms  which  were  so  often 
upon  the  lips  of  our  Lord,  and  quite  simply  look  at  them  ; 
the  two   terms,  the   Kingdom   of  heaven,  the  Kingdom  ot 

*  Exod.  xix.  6.  '2  Sam.  vii.  12,  13. 

'  I  Chron.  xxix.  II.     2  Chron.  xiii.  8. 

<Psa.  xxii.  28;  xlv.  6;  ciii.  19;  cxlv.  11,  12,  13, 

•Isa.  ix.  7  ;  Ixii.  3.  *  Micah  iv.  8.  'Obad.  21. 


The  Fundamental  Conception  207 

God.  While,  as  we  have  seen,  no  clear-cut  distinction 
must  be  made  between  them,  and  while  in  all  probability 
His  own  term  was  most  often  the  Kingdom  of  heaven, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  He  used  them  both. 

The  phrase  "  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  "  is  only  to  be 
found  in  Matthew ;  but  in  Matthew  we  also  find  the 
phrases  "the  Kingdom  of  God"  and  "His  Kingdom," 
and  that  in  most  remarkable  circumstances. 

Let  us  first  consider  the  word  Kingdom,  which  is  found 
in  both  phrases.  Every  one  is  supposed  to  know  what 
kingdom  means.  Nevertheless  one  of  the  first  things  nec- 
essary to  our  understanding  of  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  is 
that  we  should  carefully  examine  this,  because  our  common 
understanding  of  the  word  is  partial.  In  order  to  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  true  meaning  of  the  word  let  us  make  use 
of  three  very  simple  words  :  Rule,  Realm,  Result.  Rule  is 
the  abstract  meaning  of  Kingdom.  The  Kingdom  of  God 
is  the  rule  of  God.  That  is  the  deepest  note.  Realm  is 
the  concrete  fact  of  the  Kingdom.  The  Kingdom  of  God 
is  the  sphere  in  which  His  rule  is  exercised.  Result  is  the 
realization  of  the  Kingdom.  The  Kingdom  of  God  is  the 
result  realized  within  His  realm  through  His  rule.  The 
Kingdom  of  God  is  the  rule  of  God.  The  Kingdom  of 
God  is  the  realm  over  which  God  rules.  The  Kingdom  or 
God  is  the  result  produced  in  the  realm  of  God  as  the  re- 
sult of  the  rule  of  God. 

All  these  values  are  In  our  word,  and  we  must  watch  for 
them.  As  we  study,  we  must  be  careful  lest  when  we  read 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  we  simply  think  of  a  territory,  and 
largely  neglect  the  first  and  fundamental  fact  that  gives 
value  to  everything  else,  that  of  the  rule  of  God.  Modern 
writers  are  employing  another  word,  the  reign  of  God. 
Now  in  certain  applications  that  word  is  of  enormous  value, 
but  it  leaves  a  good  deal  out,  and  the  actual  word  Kingdom 


2o8  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

is  better ;  for  the  reign  of  God  is  not  the  territory  over 
which  He  rules,  but  the  exercise  of  authority  over  it,  while 
the  word  Kingdom  includes  both  ideas,  and  more.  The 
Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  once  the  authority  of  Heaven  ; 
<:he  territory  over  which  the  heavenly  order  prevails  ;  and 
the  results  produced  within  that  territory  because  the 
heavenly  order  prevails.  These  are  the  values  of  the  word, 
and  the  truths  which  we  must  keep  in  mind. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  phrase,  of  heaven,  A  remark- 
able fact,  perhaps  a  small  one  apparently,  and  yet  full  of 
significance,  is  that  wherever  we  read  "  the  Kingdom  of 
heaven  "  we  more  accurately  express  what  is  actually  writ- 
ten if  we  read,  "The  Kingdom  of  the  heavens."  The 
word  is  plural.  The  value  of  that  may  be  discovered  by  a 
reference  to  the  Lord's  Prayer.  To  read  it  a  little  more 
literally,  as  to  its  first  half:  "Our  Father  Who  art  in  the 
heavens.  Thy  name  be  hallowed.  Thy  Kingdom  come. 
Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth."  '  A  doctrine 
of  God  is  included  in  the  invocation  :  "  Our  Father  Who  art 
in  the  heavens."  This  method  of  address  suggests  the 
omnipresence  of  God.  In  the  final  clause,  "as  in  heaven, 
so  on  earth,"  the  word  is  singular;  and  the  reference  pat- 
ently is  to  that  heaven  which  is  the  place  of  the  supreme 
manifestation  of  God.  Thus  the  prayer  is  that  the  heavenly 
order  may  be  established  in  the  world. 

So  that  the  phrase.  Kingdom  of  heaven,  reveals  the 
pattern  of  the  true  Kingdom  on  earth.  The  idea  of  the 
term  is  that  in  this  world,  the  laws  of  heaven  should  be  ob- 
served ;  and  by  that  I  do  not  merely  mean  the  laws  heaven 
makes  for  earth,  but  the  laws  that  heaven  obeys.  How 
little  we  know  of  the  heaven  that  lies  beyond,  of  all  that 
wonderful  region,  place,  locality,  where  are  unfallen  angels 
and  the  spirits  of  the  just  men  made  perfect.  But  Christ 
1  Matt.  vi.  9,  i« 


The  Fundamental  Conception  209 

taught  us  to  pray  that  the  laws  that  govern  them,  the  reason 
for  the  things  they  do,  the  master-passion  of  all  their  ac- 
tivity, may  become  the  laws,  the  reason,  the  master-passion 
governing  the  affairs  of  this  world  of  ours. 

The  phrase,  "  of  God,"  with  a  sublime  brevity  brings  us 
face  to  face  with  the  central  authority,  for  the  Kingdom  of 
the  heavens  is  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

We  are  not  at  present  dealing  with  applications.  We 
shall  come  to  some  of  them  ;  for  our  Lord  believed  that 
flowers  are  in  that  Kingdom,  and  that  the  King  clothes 
them  ;  that  birds  are  in  that  Kingdom,  and  that  the  King 
is  with  the  dying  sparrow ;  that  children  are  in  that  King- 
dom, and  that  "  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the 
face  of  My  Father." 

Thus  we  return  in  conclusion  to  the  central  idea  of  Jesus 
when  He  used  these  phrases.  That  idea  was  that  of  the 
rule  of  God.  The  rule  of  God  in  His  mind  was  at  once 
a  fact ;  a  claim  in  the  presence  of  human  will ;  and  a  pur- 
pose, the  master-passion  and  inspiration  of  all  His  own 
ministry.  The  clear  vision  shining  through  all  clouds  and 
darkness,  illuminating  every  hour  of  His  patient,  sorrowful 
life,  making  even  the  mists  about  the  Cross  purple  with 
the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him,  was  that  of  the  authority 
of  God,  the  rule  of  God,  the  reign  of  God.  His  mission 
in  the  world  was  to  proclaim  that  authority,  to  insist  upon 
it,  to  explain  it,  to  reveal  it,  to  woo  men  towards  it,  to  warn 
men  against  neglecting  it.  The  mighty  passion  that  bore 
Him  up  through  all  sorrows  and  misunderstandings,  that 
bore  Him  at  last  to  Calvary,  was  His  passion  for  that  King- 
dom of  God. 

We  have  never  yet  begun  to  see  the  exquisite  mosaic  of 
these  four  stories,  nor  have  we  caught  the  majestic  harmony 
of  their  varied  tones,  until  we  have  realized  that  the  King- 
dom of  God,  in  the  thinking  and  the  purpose  of  our  Lord, 


210  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

is  the  key  to  the  mosaic,  and  the  dominant  chord  of  the 
music.  His  passion  in  this  world  of  ours,  in  this  human 
history  which  is  but  a  part  of  God's  great  whole,  was  for 
the  restoration  of  the  lost  order,  the  establishment  of  the 
Kingdom,  and  the  bringing  back  of  men  and  things  under 
the  beneficent  and  healing  and  beauteous  sway  of  the  au- 
thority of  God. 


II.     DIFFERENT  PHASES  OF  THE  ONE  FACT 


"  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and  to  say,  Repent  ye ;  for  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." — Matthew  iv.  ly. 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven." 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake : 
for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven." 

"Whosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  and 
shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  least  in  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but 
whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  he  shall  be  called  great  in  the  King- 
dom of  heaven." — v.  j,  lo,  ig. 

"  Thy  Kingdom  come." 

"  But  seek  ye  first  His  Kingdom,  and  His  righteousness ;  and  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  you."— W.  io,jj. 

"  As  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  The  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." — x.  y. 

**  And  from  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  until  now  the  Kingdom  of 
heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  men  of  violence  take  it  by  force." — xi.  12. 

"  But  if  I  by  the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out  devils,  then  is  the  Kingdom  of 
God  come  upon  you." — xii.  28. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth  His  angels,  and  they  shall  gather 
out  of  His  Kingdom  all  things  that  cause  stumbling,  and  them  that  do 
iniquity.  .  .  .  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the 
Kingdom  of  their  Father.     He  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear." — xiii.  41  ^  43. 

"  Therefore  every  scribe  who  hath  been  made  a  disciple  to  the  Kingdom 
of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which  bringeth  forth 
out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old." — xiii.  ^2. 

**  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  :  and  what- 
loever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  :  and  whatsoever 
Ihou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." — xvi.  ig. 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children, 
;e  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  heaven." — xviii.  3. 

"  Therefore  say  I  unto  you.  The  Kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  away 
from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof." 
^xxi.  43. 

"  But  woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  because  ye  shut 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven  against  men  :  for  ye  enter  not  in  yourselves,  neither 
suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  in  to  enter."— ;r;t:m.  13. 


«« If  thine  eye  cause  thee  to  stumble,  cast  it  out :  it  is  good  for  thee  to 
enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God  with  one  eye,  rather  than  having  two  eye* 
to  be  cast  into  hell." — Mark  ix.  47. 


«•  Heal  the  sick  that  are  therein,  and  say  unto  them,  The  Kingdom  of 
God  is  come  nigh  unto  you.  But  into  whatsoever  city  ye  shall  enter,  and 
they  receive  you  not,  go  out  into  the  streets  thereof  and  say,  Even  the  dust 
from  your  city,  that  cleaveth  to  our  feet,  we  do  wipe  off  against  you :  how- 
beit  know  this,  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh." — Luke  x.  g-ii. 

«  Fear  not,  little  flock ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you 
the  Kingdom." — xii.32. 

'*  The  law  and  the  prophets  were  until  John :  from  that  time  the  Gospel 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  preached,  and  every  man  entereth  violently  into 
it." — xvi.  lb. 

"  Neither  shall  they  say,  Lo,  here  !  or,  There  !  for  lo,  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  within  you." — xvii.  21. 


«« Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  anew,  he  cannot 
see  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Nicodemus  saith  unto  Him,  How  can  a  man 
be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  can  he  enter  a  second  time  into  his  mother's 
womb,  and  be  born  ?  Jesus  answered.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  King- 
dom of  God." — John  Hi.  3-3. 

"  My  Kingdom  is  not  of  this  world :  If  My  Kingdom  were  of  this 
world,  then  would  My  servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to  the 
Jews :  but  now  is  My  Kingdom  not  from  hence." — xvtii.  j6. 


II 

DIFFERENT  PHASES  OF  THE  ONE  FACT 

Let  us  now  consider  some  phases  of  the  one  inclusive 
fact  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  suggested  by  the  phrases  which 
our  Lord  used  when  referring  to  it.  His  first  recorded  refer- 
ence to  the  Kingdom  was  in  His  conversation  with  Nico- 
demus.  His  last  recorded  reference  to  the  Kingdom  was  in 
His  conversation  with  Pilate.  These  are  at  least  interesting 
and  suggestive  facts.  Both  these  conversations  are  found  in 
the  Gospel  according  to  John  :  and  indeed,  they  are  only 
found  there  ;  and  yet  further,  they  are  the  only  occurrences 
of  the  word  Kingdom  in  that  Gospel. 

Between  these  conversations  the  word  was  constantly 
upon  His  lips,  as  the  idea  was  ever  in  His  mind  ;  and  so 
varied  were  His  references  and  declarations  that  sometimes 
they  seem  to  be  contradictory.  It  would  not  be  at  all  diffi- 
cult for  any  one,  who  was  so  disposed,  to  set  down  one  thing 
our  Master  said,  upon  one  occasion,  concerning  the  King- 
dom ;  and  opposite  it  something  He  said  upon  another  oc- 
casion, apparently  in  direct  opposition.  To  take  a  simple 
illustration.  He  declared,  "  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine 
forth  as  the  sun  in  the  Kingdom  of  their  Father."  ^  Upon 
another  occasion  He  said,  "  The  Kingdom  of  God  cometh 
not  with  observation,'**  ^  I  am  not  proposing  now  to  deal 
with  that  apparent  contradiction.  I  but  refer  to  it.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  all  these  seeming  contradictions  must  be  con- 
sidered in  their  relationship  to  His  whole  conception  of  the 
Kingdom ;  and  being  so  considered,  they  will  be  found  to 
»  Matt.  xiii.  43.  »  Luke  xvii.  20. 


2i6  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

reveal  difFerent  aspects  of  the  Kingdom  as  He  understoo  i 
it,  and  as  He  came  to  reveal  it. 

At  the  commencement  of  these  studies  will  be  found  a 
table  of  the  references  which  our  Lord  made  to  the  King- 
dom, set  out,  so  far  as  I  am  able,  in  chronological  order. 

A  glance  at  this  table  will  show  that  in  the  brief  report  of 
the  words  of  Jesus  preserved  for  us,  there  are  at  least  sixty- 
two  references  to  the  Kingdom,  and  His  employment  of  dif- 
ferent phrases  with  regard  thereto  is  in  itself  a  matter  of  very 
great  interest.  I  propose  to  select  those  which  give  distinct 
ideas,  and  then  to  indicate  the  unification  of  these  ideas  in 
the  Person,  and  in  the  mission  of  our  Lord. 

The  boundaries  of  suggestion  are  to  be  found  in  His  first 
and  final  references  to  the  Kingdom. 

The  first  reference  was  made  to  Nicodemus  in  the  words, 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a  man  be  born  anew, 
he  cannot  see  the  Kingdom  of  God."  *  It  was  ^  striking 
introduction,  general  and  inclusive.  He  made  use  of  a  phrase 
that  was  current  in  Rabbinical  teaching,  and  that  was  not 
unknown  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  old  economy  ;  and  immedi- 
ately connected  that  common  phrase  with  an  idea,  strangely 
new  and  mystical  to  the  mind  of  the  man  who  listened. 
About  the  "  Kingdom  of  God  "  Nicodemus  knew  much,  or 
thought  he  did ;  but  when  the  Master  declared  that  no  man 
can  see  it,  unless  he  be  born  from  above,  a  new  and  strange 
idea  was  presented  to  his  mind. 

Nicodemus  had  come  to  Him  devoutly,  honestly,  and 
sincerely,  himself  a  teacher  in  Israel,  earnestly  desiring  to 
know  the  last  thing  God  had  to  say  to  men.  He  believed 
that  the  God  of  his  fathers.  Who  had  spoken  to  them  in 
divers  portions  and  divers  methods  in  the  past,  had  through 
Jesus  something  else  to  say,  something  more  to  communi- 
cate :  "  We  know  that  Thou  art  a  Teacher  come  from 
1  John  iii.  3. 


Different  Phases  of  the  One  Fact  2 1 7 

God."  *  He  had  come  to  listen  to  the  added  line,  the  new 
precept,  the  little  more ;  and  our  Master  took  the  whole 
conception  of  Hebraism,  and  expressed  it  in  the  opening 
phrase,  "  the  Kingdom  of  God,"  and  then  said  to  the  ruler 
and  the  teacher.  No  man  can  see  it  unless  he  be  born  anew. 
The  idea  of  the  Kingdom  in  its  entirety  lay  within  that 
opening  word,  and  it  was  accompanied  by  a  revelation  of 
our  Master's  conception  of  man's  condition.  A  man  is  un- 
able to  see  the  Kingdom,  cannot  know  it,  save  as  he  receives 
some  mystic  gift  of  life  from  above ;  the  result  of  the  re- 
ception of  which  will  be  a  vision  of  the  Kingdom,  and  an 
understanding  of  its  true  meaning. 

The  last  declaration  was  made  at  the  close  of  the  long 
ministry,  in  that  wonderful  word  which  our  Lord  spoke  in 
the  presence  of  the  Roman  procurator,  "  My  Kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world  :  if  My  Kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then 
would  My  servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to 
the  Jews  :  but  now  is  My  Kingdom  not  from  hence." ' 
This  is  an  equally  striking  conclusion.  If  the  first  word 
was  general  and  inclusive,  the  final  word  was  particular  and 
corrective.  If  the  first  word  indicated  the  fact  that  for  the 
seeing  of  the  Kingdom  there  must  be  some  communication 
of  heavenly  life,  the  last  word  indicated  the  fact  that  for  the 
realization  of  the  Kingdom,  material  forces  and  policies  are 
of  no  avail.  The  rule  of  heaven  over  the  world  is  My 
Kingdom  ;  My  Kingdom  is  not  of  the  cosmos,  does  not 
depend  upon  the  things  that  are  in  it.  My  Kingdom  is  the 
reign  and  rule  of  heaven  over  the  cosmos.  The  results  at 
which  I  have  been  aiming  will  never  be  realized  by  armies 
or  policies;  not  hence  is  My  Kingdom. 

There  stood  the  Master  face  to  face  with  the  symbol  and 
embodiment  in  a  man,  of  the  greatest  power  of  government 
in  the  world ;  all  the  Roman  Empire  was  represented  in 
>  John  iii.  2.  '  Ibid.^  xviii.  36. 


2i8  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Pilate,  and  to  him  Jesus  said,  Not  hence  is  My  Kingdom  i 
not  by  these  methods  is  it  to  be  estabhshed. 

The  boundaries  of  suggestion  then  are :  first,  that  what- 
ever He  meant  by  the  Kingdom,  no  man  can  see  it,  save  as 
he  receive  new  life  from  above  ;  and  finally,  that  whatever 
He  meant  by  the  Kingdom,  it  can  never  be  realized  in  hu- 
man history,  by  human  policies,  and  human  cleverness. 
All  His  teaching  is  bounded  by  these  two  great  prin- 
ciples. 

Now  let  us  glance  over  what  lies  between  that  first 
declaration  and  that  final  affirmation,  and  taking  all  these 
references  attempt  to  summarize  them,  and  to  deduce  from 
them  their  values.  There  are  five  things  which  our  Lord's 
references  to  the  Kingdom  make  perfectly  clear. 

He  declared  first  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  that  into 
which  men  must  enter.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  all  men 
and  all  angels  and  all  devils  are  in  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
and  can  never  escape  from  His  Kingship.  But  there  is  a 
sense  in  which  men  are  outside,  and  there  must  be,  on 
their  part,  a  definite  act  of  entrance. 

In  the  second  place  His  teaching  proclaimed  the  fact  thai 
the  Kingdom  of  God  came  to  men,  when  He  came  to  men. 

In  the  third  place  His  teaching  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
Kingdom  of  God  is  the  inheritance  of  those  who  enter  in, 
and  submit  to  the  rule  of  God. 

In  the  fourth  place  He  showed  that  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  that  for  which  the  subjects,  entering  in,  become 
responsible  in  all  the  affairs  of  this  life. 

And  finally.  He  taught  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  that 
which  will  be  established  in  the  world  by  processes  leading 
up  to  a  definite  crisis. 

That  is  to  summarize  quite  briefly  the  result  of  an  exami- 
nation of  the  phrases  which  our  Lord  used,  rather  than  to 
consider  carefully  any  particular  and  specific  teaching. 


Different  Phases  of  the  One  Fact  219 

^^"He  declared  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  that  into  which 
men  must  enter.  He  treated  men  as  being  outside  that 
Kingdom  j  and  He  was  perfectly  clear  in  His  teaching  con- 
cerning the  way  by  which  they  may  enter  the  Kingdom. 
Ke  declared  that  the  first  necessity  for  entrance  is  new  life 
in  the  second  word  He  spoke  to  Nicodemus,  "  Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God."  ^  He  revealed  the  conditions  upon 
which  men  may  have  life,  and  so  enter  into  the  Kingdom  ; 
the  intellectual  condition  :  "  From  the  days  of  John  the 
Baptist  until  now  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  sufFereth  violence, 
and  men  of  violence  taketh  it  by  force."  ^  Or  as  He  said 
upon  another  occasion,  "  The  law  and  the  prophets  were 
until  John :  from  that  time  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  preached,  and  every  man  entereth  violently  into  it."^ 
A  careful  examination  of  these  two  in  their  mutual  light 
will  show  that  our  Lord  was  speaking  as  to  intellectual  diffi- 
culty, to  men  who  could  not  understand  the  methods  He 
was  adopting.  His  methods  for  the  establishment  of  His 
Kingdom  are  as  alien  to  the  philosophies  of  the  hour,  as 
they  were  to  the  intellectual  apprehension  of  John  the 
Baptist ;  but  He  will  establish  His  Kingdom  by  His  own 
method,  which  is  the  only  method.  Therefore  a  man  must 
be  prepared  to  do  violence  to  all  his  own  wit  and  wisdom 
and  cleverness,  and  be  assured  that  the  method  of  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor,  and  healing  the  sick,  and  opening 
blind  eyes,  and  refusing  to  gather  an  army,  and  failing  to 
call  together  a  parliament,  are  the  real  methods  of  the  King- 
dom ; — individual  preaching  of  a  truth,  insistence  upon  the 
importance  of  truth,  the  perpetual,  quiet,  and  personal  prop- 
aganda from  man  to  man,  the  creation  of  the  new  social 
order  by  the  regeneration  of  the  individuals  that  make  up 
the  social  order. 

^Johniii.  5.  « Matt.  xi.  12.       '  ^Lukexvi.  16. 


220  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

He  also  revealed  the  emotional  condition  for  entering. 
"  Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  heaven."  *  Until  a 
man  shall  go  back  to  childhood,  and  to  the  spirit  of  a  little 
child,  which  is  the  spirit  of  simplicity,  of  conscious  and 
confessed  imperfection,  of  plasticity  ;  unless  a  man  get 
back  emotionally  to  that  point,  and  is  willing  to  take  that 
position,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom. 

He  revealed,  moreover,  in  startling  language,  in  terms 
that  thrill  and  almost  thunder  in  severity,  the  volitional 
necessity:  "If  thine  eye  cause  thee  to  stumble,  cast  it 
out :  it  is  good  for  thee  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God 
with  one  eye,  rather  than  having  two  eyes  to  be  cast  into 
hell." ' 

The  conception  was  always  that  of  having  to  enter  in, 
and  the  intellectual  and  the  emotional  and  the  volitional 
values  were  clearly  revealed.  The  Kingdom  is  that  into 
which  a  man  must  enter,  and  must  enter  by  a  process,  by 
revolution  rather  than  evolution. 

But  in  the  second  place — and  here  is  the  note  of  hope, 
and  here  is  the  light  and  the  glory  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
— His  words  reveal  the  fact  that  He  conceived  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  as  that  which  had  come  to  men.  Such 
was  His  unvarying  proclamation. 

It  was  the  key-note  of  His  own  preaching,  "From  that 
time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and  to  say.  Repent  ye  j  for  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  ^ 

It  was  the  key-note  of  His  commission  to  the  twelve, 
"As  ye  go,  preach,  saying.  The  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand."  ' 

It  was  the  claim  He  made  when  His  enemies  charged 
Him  with  casting  out  demons  by  the  power  of  Beelzebub, 

»  Matt,  xviii.  3.  ^  Matt.  iv.  17. 

"  Mark  ix.  47.  *  /Sid.,  x.  7. 


DifFerent  Phases  of  the  One  Fact  221 

"  If  I  by  the  Spirit  of  God  cast  out  devils,  then  is  the  King- 
dom of  God  come  upon  you."  ^ 

It  was  the  key-note  of  His  commission  to  the  seventy, 
"  Heal  the  sick  .  .  .  and  say  unto  them,  The  King- 
dom of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you  .  .  .  howbeit 
know  this,  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh."^ 

Finally  when  enforcing  His  claim  in  answer  to  the 
criticism  of  the  Pharisees  He  said,  "  Lo,  the  Kingdom  of 
God  is  among  you,"^  that  is,  in  the  midst  of  you.  That  is 
one  of  the  passages  upon  which  philosophies  unwarranted 
by  the  teaching  of  Jesus  have  been  built.  There  are  those 
who  tell  us  that  the  passage  means  that  our  Lord  said  that 
in  every  man  there  is  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  it  only 
needs  developing.  That  was  not  the  intention.  The  con- 
text sweeps  the  idea  away.  The  Kingdom  of  God  was  in 
the  midst  of  them  because  He  was  in  the  midst  of  them, 
revealing  its  purpose,  its  powers,  and  its  passion.  This 
statement  was  a  claim  for  Himself,  and  not  a  description 
of  human  nature.  From  beginning  to  end  of  His  ministry 
He  declared  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  nigh  at  hand. 

Two  things  then  have  we  so  far  seen  ;  first  that  men 
must  enter  the  Kingdom  by  way  of  change,  by  revolution  i 
and  secondly,  that  He  had  brought  the  Kingdom  close  to 
men  in  order  that  they  might  enter  in. 

The  third  phase  of  suggestion  made  by  these  phrases  of 
our  Lord  is  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  the  inheritance 
of  the  subjects  thereof.  Three  illustrations  will  suffice ; 
the  opening  beatitude,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for 
theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,*'  '*  the  closing  beatitude, 
"Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness' sake  :  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,"  ^  and 
when   speaking   to   His  own   disciples,  repeating  to  them 

1  Matt.  xii.  28.  >  Ibid.,  xvii.  21.  6  Ibid.,  v.  lO. 

'  Luke  X.  9-1 1.  *  Matt.  v.  3. 


222  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

some  parts  of  the  Manifesto  on  another  occasion,  and  in  a 
different  place,  He  gave  utterance  to  these  wonderful  words, 
"  Fear  not,  little  flock ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure 
to  give  you  the  Kingdom."  * 

The  idea  suggested  by  these  words  of  Christ  is  that  men  en- 
tering into  the  Kingdom  He  has  brought  nigh  become  citizens 
of  that  Kingdom.  There  is  conferred  upon  them  the  freedom 
of  the  city  of  God.  They  are  now  made  participants  in  all 
the  values  of  that  Kmgdom.  They  enter,  in  order  to  possess 
it.  Those  who  are  poor  in  spirit,  and  who  therefore  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  He  has  brought  nigh,  entering  in  are  not  there  on 
sufferance.  "No  more  strangers  and  sojourners,  but  .  .  . 
fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God."  ^ 

And  ultimately  to  those  who  enter  in,  the  Kingdom  is 
given  in  perfection.  "Fear  not,  little  flock;  for  it  is  your 
Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  Kingdom."  '  That 
is  a  picture  of  the  ultimate  democracy,  but  it  is  democracy 
realizing  itself  under  the  supreme  and  vital  government  of 
the  absolute  monarchy  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
Those  who  enter  the  Kingdom  possess  it,  all  its  riches  are 
theirs,  all  its  privileges  belong  to  them. 

The  fourth  phase  of  suggestion  resulting  from  these 
phrases  of  our  Lord  is  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  that  for 
which  its  subjects  become  responsible.  Nothing  is  more 
patent  than  this  in  the  study  of  the  words  of  Jesus.  Mark 
His  instructions  as  they  are  found  in  the  Manifesto,  in  the 
parables,  and  notably  at  the  great  confession  at  Caesarea 
Philippi.  In  the  course  of  the  Manifesto  He  said  as  to 
their  teaching :  "  Whosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of 
these  least  commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be 
called  least  in  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  :  but  whosoever  shall 
do  and  teach  them,  he  shall  be  called  great  in  the  Kingdom 
of  heaven."^     He  commanded  them  to  pray  for  the  coming 

»  Luke  xii.  32.  «  Eph.  ii.  19.  «  Matt.  v.  19. 


Different  Phases  of  the  One  Fact  223 

of  the  Kingdom  in  the  words  "  Our  Father  Who  art  in  the 
heavens,  Thy  name  be  hallowed.  Thy  Kingdom  come. 
Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.'*  ^  And  He 
called  them  to  effort  for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  in  the 
words,  "  Seek  ye  first  His  Kingdom,  and  His  righteous- 
ness ;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  ^ 
Thus  those  entering  the  Kingdom  He  has  brought  nigh,  and 
sharing  its  privileges,  are  made  responsible  for  that  King- 
dom in  the  world. 

His  parabolic  teaching,  recorded  specially  in  the  thir- 
teenth chapter  of  Matthew,  was  in  part  delivered  to  the 
multitudes,  and  in  part  in  private  to  the  disciples.  He 
ended  that  teaching  by  asking  His  own  disciples,  "  Have 
ye  understood  all  these  things  ?  '*  And  they  said  "  Yea." 
Then  said  He,  "  Therefore  every  scribe  who  hath  been 
made  a  disciple  to  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a 
man  that  is  a  householder,  which  bringeth  forth  out  of  his 
treasure  things  new  and  old.'*  ^  Thus  the  final  parable 
revealed  their  responsibility.  Because  they  were  scribes, 
instructed  to  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,  they  occupied  the 
position  of  householders,  who  were  responsible  to  bring  out 
of  their  treasure-house  things  new  and  old. 

At  Caesarea  Philippi  Peter  made  his  great  confession,  and 
our  Lord  indicated  this  fact  of  responsibility  in  one  phase 
of  illustration  concerning  His  Church.  Not  only  did  He 
say,  "  I  will  build  My  Church  "  ;  not  only  "  the  gates  of 
Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it  "  ;  but  also,  "  I  will  give 
unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  heaven."  ''  I  will 
give  unto  thee  the  Insignia  of  moral  authority  in  the  world. 
The  keys  are  the  symbols  of  an  ethical  responsibility  rest- 
ing upon  all  disciples  of  the  Kingdom. 

Thus  our  Lord  indicated  in  His  Manifesto,  in  His  para- 

*  Matt.  vi.  9,  10.  5  Matt.  xiii.  51,  52. 

'  Ibid.t  vi.  33.  *  Ibid.^  xvl  18,  19. 


224  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

bolic  teaching,  and  at  the  crisis  of  Peter's  confession,  the 
truth  that  those  who  enter  into  the  Kingdom  which  He 
brings  near  to  men,  and  who  by  such  entrance  do  possess 
for  themselves  the  Kingdom,  are  responsible  in  the  world  for 
the  revelation  of  that  Kingdom,  and  its  proclamation  to  men. 

This  is  even  more  solemnly  revealed  by  words  He  ad- 
dressed to  the  rulers  of  the  ancient  people,  and  to  the  city 
itself.  "I  say  unto  you,  The  Kingdom  of  God  shall  be 
taken  away  from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  bring- 
ing forth  the  fruits  thereof."  ^  That  doom  was  pronounced 
because  that  nation  had  failed  to  fulfill  its  Kingdom  respon- 
sibility in  the  world. 

The  same  truth  is  yet  more  clearly,  vividly,  terribly 
stated  in  the  final  woes  pronounced  upon  the  rulers,  "  Woe 
unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  because  ye 
shut  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  against  men  :  for  ye  enter  not 
in  yourselves,  neither  suflFer  ye  them  that  are  entering  in 
to  enter."  2 

All  these  words  addressed  to  His  disciples,  and  woes  pro- 
nounced upon  the  rulers  of  the  time,  reveal  the  same  prin- 
ciple, that  if  we  enter  the  Kingdom  which  He  brings  near, 
and  share  its  privileges,  its  responsibilities  rest  upon  us. 

Finally,  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  revealed  the  fact  that 
the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth  is  to  be  established  by 
processes  leading  to,  and  culminating  in  a  crisis.  All  the 
Kingdom  parables  teach  this.  The  process  is  that  of  the 
introduction  of  certain  elements  through  individual  souls 
into  the  world  spirit  and  the  world  atmosphere ;  the  intro- 
duction of  principles  ;  the  sowing  of  the  good  seed.  These 
parables  reveal  also  the  fact  of  development ;  the  develop- 
ment of  opposing  forces  and  principles  to  full  manifesta- 
tion ;  the  development  of  the  good  seed,  first  the  blade,  and 
then  the  ear,  and  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear ;  the  growth 
» Matt.  xxi.  43.  •  Matt,  xxiii.  13. 


Different  Phases  of  the  One  Fact  225 

from  the  seed  to  the  harvest  of  wheat ;  the  growth  to  abso- 
lute and  final  development  and  manifestation  of  darnel. 

There  are  some  people  who  say  :  Do  you  not  think  the 
world  is  getting  better  ?  Oh,  yes,  very  much  better  every 
day  !  But  others  say.  Do  you  not  think  it  is  getting  very 
much  worse  ?  Yes,  very  much  worse  every  day  !  That 
is  exactly  the  teaching  of  Jesus  j  and  the  man  who  only 
sees  that  it  is  getting  worse  does  not  see  as  his  Master  saw  ; 
and  the  man  who  only  sees  it  getting  better,  sees  very  little. 
Accept  it  or  reject  it,  this  was  clearly  His  teaching.  He 
may  have  been  mistaken,  this  Teacher  of  two  millenniums 
ago.  For  the  moment  we  are  dealing  only  with  what  He 
said.  The  process  is  one  of  development ;  development  in 
which  evil  is  wrought  out  to  its  ultimate  and  most  terrible 
issue  and  manifestation  ;  development  in  which  good,  the 
good  He  brought  into  human  history,  is  wrought  out  to  its 
final  manifestation. 

And  how  will  the  process  end  ?  Not  by  wheat  gaining 
a  victory  over  darnel,  or  by  darnel  driving  all  wheat  out  of 
the  field  of  the  world  !  It  will  end  by  a  crisis  in  human 
history,  clear,  definite,  sharp  :  a  crisis  in  which  evil  is  to  be 
destroyed  and  swept  out  of  the  world,  and  good  is  to  be 
brought  to  its  final  realization  and  its  ultimate  triymph.  Not 
by  a  crisis  alone,  but  by  a  process  ending  in  a  crisis  !  Not 
by  a  process  alone,  but  by  a  crisis  prepared  for  by  a  process  ! 

The  teaching  of  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  concerning 
His  second  advent  as  constituting  the  crisis  is  perfectly 
clear,  and  there  can  be  no  greater  difficulty  in  believing 
that,  than  in  believing  the  fact  of  the  first  advent.  The 
second  is  no  more  wonderful  a  crisis  than  the  first.  God's 
method  has  always  been  that  of  process  leading  to  crisis, 
the  crisis  initiating  a  new  movement  forward,  until  the 
glorious  consummation. 

Thus  our  Lord  declared  that  this  Kingdom,  to  which  He 


220  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

made  such  constant  reference,  men  must  enter  j  He  came 
to  bring  it  near ;  men  entering  become  citizens  thereof; 
becoming  citizens  they  are  responsible  for  its  principles,  its 
revelation,  and  its  operations  ;  and  that  it  will  come  by 
processes  of  development  which  will  go  forward  until  an 
hour  of  crisis,  when  He  will  appear  a  second  time,  defi- 
nitely taking  action ;  and  the  Kingdom  will  be  established. 

All  these  phases  revealed  by  His  phrases  are  unified  in 
Himself.  In  the  boundaries  of  suggestion  He  first  declared 
that  life  is  the  first  necessity  for  vision,  and  proceeded  to 
show  Nicodemus  how  He  had  come  to  give  that  life.  In 
the  final  afiirmation  He  declared  to  Pilate  that  not  by  the 
methods  of  this  world  can  His  Kingdom  come,  but  that  He 
had  come  to  proclaim  truth,  and  that  by  the  victory  of  truth 
the  Kingdom  must  comec 

Entrance  to  the  Kingdom  is  made  possible  by  Himself. 
He  it  is  Who  has  brought  the  Kingdom  nigh  to  men. 
He  bestows  its  gifts,  and  administers  its  resources.  He 
directs  its  responsible  services.  His  own  advent  is  to 
create  the  crisis  when  evil  is  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  King- 
dom is  to  be  established. 

From  that  rapid  survey  we  see  a  little  more  clearly  the 
consequent  sequence  and  order.  By  the  first  advent  the 
rule  of  God  was  revealed ;  the  realm  of  the  rule  was 
claimed  in  His  name  ;  and  the  resources  were  provided  that 
were  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  the  material  King- 
dom upon  spiritual  foundations. 

The  process  of  to-day  is  that  of  individual  realization  ot 
the  Kmgdom  ;  world-wide  proclamation  of  the  Kingdom 
by  those  in  whom  the  Kingdom  is  realized  ;  and  corporate 
realization  of  all  the  breadth  and  beauty  of  the  Kingdom 
within  the  Christian  Church. 

In  this  last  particular  we  have  most  conspicuously  failed. 
There  is  no  clear  manifestation  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in 


Different  Phases  of  the  One  Fact  227 

the  corporate  being  of  the  Church  of  God  to-day.  The 
man  outside  has  no  clear  vision  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
when  he  looks  at  the  Christian  Church.  That  one  undi- 
vided whole,  the  holy  nation,  where  is  it  ?  Blessed  be  God, 
the  spiritual  unity  has  never  been  lost,  for  He  has  kept  that 
within  His  own  power;  but  the  outward  manifestation  has 
been  entirely  lost.  The  most  disastrous  phase  of  the 
Church's  failure  is  her  failure  in  her  corporate  capacity  to 
reveal  to  men  what  the  Kingdom  of  God  will  mean,  when 
it  is  established  in  the  world. 

The  last  word  is  that  by  the  second  advent  there  will  be 
accomplished  the  ultimate  victory  of  good  over  evil,  the  sub- 
jugation of  the  whole  realm  of  the  earth  to  the  reign  of  God, 
in  and  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  the  fulfillment  of  the 
great  ideal. 

It  is  ours  to  ask  ourselves  the  simplest  of  all  questions. 
Have  I  entered  that  Kingdom  i'  If  I  have  not  entered  that 
Kingdom,  how  shall  I  enter  it  ?  I  can  only  enter  it  as  He 
gives  me  that  life  from  above  that  enables  me  to  see  it,  and 
seeing  it  to  obey  it,  and  obeying  it  to  become  its  citizen,  and 
becoming  its  citizen  to  fulfill  my  responsibility  while  I  wait 
for  the  flaming  glory  of  His  advent,  and  the  ultimate  triumph 
of  God  in  the  world. 


III.  THE  EXISTING  ANARCHY 


*'  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  vi^ord  that  proceedeth 
out  of  the  mouth  of  God.  .  .  .  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God. 
.  .  .  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou 
serve." — Matthew  iv.  4,  7,  10. 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven." 
—V.3. 

"  When  He  saw  the  multitudes,  He  was  moved  with  compassion  for 
them,  because  they  were  distressed  and  scattered,  as  sheep  not  having  a 
shepherd." — ix.  j6. 

**  At  that  season  Jesus  answered  and  said,  I  thank  Thee,  O  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  Thou  didst  hide  these  things  from  the  wise 
and  understanding,  and  didst  reveal  them  unto  babes;  yea,  Father,  for  so 
it  was  well-pleasing  in  Thy  sight.  All  things  have  been  delivered  unto  Me 
of  My  Father  :  and  no  one  knoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father  ;  neither  doth 
any  know  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  willeth 
to  reveal  Him.  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest." — xi.  2^-28. 

"  Let  them  alone  :  they  are  blind  guides.  And  if  the  blind  guide  the 
blind,  both  shall  fall  into  a  pit." — xv.  14. 

"  The  husbandmen,  when  they  saw  the  son,  said  among  themselves.  This 
is  the  heir;  come,  let  us  kill  him,  and  take  his  inheritance." — xxi.  j8. 

««  Yea,  they  bind  heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  lay  them 
on  men's  shoulders  ;  but  they  themselves  will  not  move  them  with  their 
fi  n  ge  r . ' ' — xxiit.  4, 

*'  Leave  the  dead  to  bury  their  own  dead ;  but  go  thou  and  publish 
abroad  the  Kingdom  of  God." — Luke  ix.  bo. 

«•  When  the  strong  man  fully  armed  guardeth  his  own  court,  his  goods 
are  in  peace.  .  .  .  The  unclean  spirit  when  he  is  gone  out  of  the 
man,  passes  through  waterless  places,  seeking  rest ;  and  finding  none,  he 
saith,  I  will  turn  back  unto  my  house  whence  I  came  out.  And  when  he 
is  come,  he  findeth  it  swept  and  garnished.  Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  to 
him  seven  other  spirits  more  evil  than  himself;  and  they  enter  in  and 
dwell  there  :  and  the  last  state  of  that  man  becometh  worse  than  the  first." 
— xi.  21,  24-26, 

"  We  will  not  that  this  man  reign  over  us." — xix.  14. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a  man  be  bom  anew,  he  can- 
not see  the  Kingdom  of  God." — John  Hi.  j. 

"  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  it  is  your 
will  to  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  stood  not  in  the 
truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him.  When  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he 
speaketh  of  his  own  :  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  thereof." — viii.  44. 

"  Those  of  the  Pharisees  which  were  with  Him  heard  these  things,  and 
said  unto  Him,  Are  we  also  blind?  Jesus  said  unto  them.  If  ye  were 
blind,  ye  would  have  no  sin :  but  now  ye  say,  We  see  :  your  sinremaineth." 
—Mr.  40,  41. 


in 

THE  EXISTING  ANARCHY 

Our  Lord's  references  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  reveal  it 
'n  four  ways.  First  He  spoke  of  it  as  existing.  The  fact 
of  the  Divine  government  was  ever  present  to  His  mind; 
He  always  spoke  in  the  evident  consciousness  of  the  throne 
of  God,  and  of  the  fact  that  God  is  Ruler  in  the  universe. 
He  also  spoke  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  come  to  men  in 
some  new  and  special  way,  as  the  result  of  His  own  com- 
ing ;  and  so  indicated  the  redemptive  nature  of  His  mission. 
He  also  referred  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  having  to  be 
established  by  processes,  and  by  that  reference  revealed  the 
responsibility  of  the  Church  in  the  interest  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God.  He  finally  spoke  of  the  Kingdom  as  yet  to  come, 
and  in  so  doing  foretold  the  consummating  activity ;  and  so 
revealed  the.  way  of  the  ultimate  realization  of  His  ideals  ir 
human  history,  and  upon  this  earth. 

The  implicate  of  each  of  the  last  three  of  these  concep- 
tions is  that  of  existing  anarchy.  The  Kingdom  nigh  is  the 
Kingdom  unrealized.  The  Kingdom  in  process  is  the 
Kingdom  postponed.  The  Kingdom  to  come  is  the  King- 
dom not  come  It  is  perfectly  evident,  from  all  these  refer- 
ences of  our  Lord,  that  His  outlook  upon  the  world  was  first, 
fundamentally,  and  always,  that  of  the  whole  universe  as 
under  the  government  of  God,  and  that  in  certain  senses  it 
cannot  escape  therefrom.  But  His  outlook  was  also  clearly 
that  of  One  Who  saw  anarchy  instead  of  order  ;  a  Kingdom 
not  recognized,  not  yielded  to  ;  unrealized  therefore  as  to  its 
benefits  and  its  glories.  To  the  eyes  of  our  Lord  all  men 
were  in  the  grasp  of  the  Divine  authority,  but  not  willingly 

231 


232  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

60.  Consequently  He  saw  that  their  experience  of  the 
Divine  authority  was  not  according  to  the  first  intention  of 
God  for  men. 

Our  present  theme,  then,  is  that  of  the  existing  anarchy  as 
He  saw  it.  While  He  clearly  saw  the  ultimate,  He  as  clearly 
saw  the  immediate;  and  His  references,  and  His  specific 
teachings,  will  show  us  what  He  saw,  and  what  He  thought 
concerning  the  anarchy  in  the  midst  of  which  He  lived  and 
wrought  and  taught.  We  shall  attempt  to  group  our  ex- 
amination of  this  teaching  of  Jesus  concerning  the  existing 
anarchy  under  three  headings.  First,  its  manifestations  as 
He  described  them;  secondly,  its  reasons  as  He  revealed 
them  ;  and  finally  its  appeal  as  He  was  conscious  thereof. 

First,  then,  as  to  the  manifestations  of  anarchy  in  the 
midst  of  which  our  Lord  lived.  I  will  first  summarize,  and 
then  refer  to  some  of  His  sayings,  which  will  help  us  in  this 
matter.  It  is  evident  that  our  Lord,  looking  out  upon  men, 
saw  that  they  were  actuated  by  false  ideals  concerning  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  As  has  been  seen  in  an  earlier  medita- 
tion, the  phrase  was  no  new  phrase.  They  were  quite 
familiar  with  it  in  the  Rabbinical  teachings  of  that  time,  and 
it  was  also  incorporated  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Covenant.  He  was  in  the  midst  of  men  who  had  some  idea 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  ;  or  even  though  they  had  no  idea 
of  that  Kingdom,  they  had  ideas  concerning  kingdoms  and 
governments  and  authorities  ;  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
clearly  reveal  that  these  were  false  ideas.  His  teaching  also 
reveals  men  as  living  under  false  rule.  Finally,  He  saw 
men  not  merely  holding  false  ideals,  and  living  under  false 
rule,  but  characterized  by  persistent  perversity,  in  spite  of 
the  light  He  came  to  bring. 

As  to  the  false  ideals.  The  first  revelation  of  His  teach- 
ing in  the  matter  is  to  be  discovered  in  the  account  of  His 
temptation,  especially  in  the  form  in  which  that  account  is 


The  Existing  Anarchy  233 

given  to  us  in  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew.  Not  that 
here  we  have  specific  teaching,  but  that  in  the  account  of  our 
Lord's  own  temptation,  and  in  the  process  of  that  tempta- 
tion, as  we  watch  Him  and  listen  to  Him,  we  have  a  revela- 
tion of  what  He  thought  concerning  human  ideals  as  He 
found  them  in  the  world.  It  is  necessary  that  we  should 
first  be  reminded  of  the  place  of  the  temptation,  and  its  re- 
lation to  this  whole  subject  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  Gospel  according  to  Matthew  is  preeminently  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  key-note  of  the  ministry 
of  John  as  it  is  recorded  in  that  Gospel  was,  "Repent ye;  for 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  ^  He  foretold  the  coming 
of  the  King  ;  One  "  mightier  than  I  "  ^  said  he,  is  coming  after 
me,  whose  shoe  latchets  I  am  not  worthy  to  stoop  down  and 
unloose.  He  also  described  the  ministry  of  the  coming  King 
as  that  of  One  Who  would  come  with  the  fan  and  the  fire  to 
destroy  the  things  of  evil,  and  to  realize  the  things  of  goodness. 

Following  this  story  of  the  ministry  of  the  Baptist  we  have 
the  account  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  King.  He  came 
to  John,  submitted  to  his  baptism,  and  was  immediately  at- 
tested of  heaven,  and  anointed  by  the  Spirit  for  His  mission 
in  the  world.  The  first  event  following  that  anointing  was 
that  of  His  temptation.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  temptation 
had  its  relation,  not  merely  to  the  personal  life  of  Jesus,  but 
also  to  His  mission  in  the  interest  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
That  becomes  patent  when  we  consider  the  ultimate  goal  of 
the  adversary's  attack.  Luke,  telling  the  story,  places  the 
temptations  in  another  order,  for  which  he  had  a  special 
reason.  Personally  I  have  no  doubt  that  Matthew  gives  us 
the  actual  order.  That  goal  is  reached  in  the  third  tempta- 
tion, in  which  he  showed  to  the  anointed  King  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  and  the  glory  of  them,  and  said :  These 
will  I  give  Thee  for  one  moment's  homage  rendered  to  me, 
»  Matt,  iii.  2.  '  Ibid.,  ill.  ii. 


234  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Beginning  with  the  Man  upon  the  physical  side  of  His  being, 
he  offered  Him  bread  as  the  sole  necessary  sustenance  of  life; 
proceeding  to  the  spiritual  essential,  he  suggested  that  He 
should  traffic  with  His  relationship  and  tempt  God ;  until 
reaching  the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  being  of  the  Man,  His 
vocation,  he  suggested  that  He  should  obtain  the  end,  reach 
the  goal,  possess  the  Kingdoms,  by  the  method  of  yielding  a 
moment's  homage  to  himself. 

Now,  in  that  movement  we  have  the  Master's  conception 
of  the  false  ideals  of  evil,  concerning  a  world  kingdom,  re- 
vealed. The  first  temptation  was  an  appeal  to  the  material, 
and  the  answer  of  Jesus  was  :  "  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of 
God."  *  The  second  temptation  was  to  the  spiritual,  and  to 
spiritual  selfishness,  and  the  answer  of  Jesus  was :  "  Thou 
shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God."^  The  final  temptation 
was  directed  against  the  vocational  position  of  Jesus,  and  sug- 
gested the  gathering  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  into  one 
by  political  intrigue  ;  and  the  answer  of  Jesus  was,  '^  Get  thee 
hence,  Satan :  for  it  is  written.  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord 
thy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  ^ 

In  contrast  to  these  affirmations  of  Christ,  which  consti- 
tuted the  bed-rock  of  His  own  strength,  and  the  very  fortress 
of  His  victory,  we  find  His  conception  of  the  false  ideals 
concerning  the  Kingdom  which  men  entertained.  The  first 
revelation  is  that  of  the  materialistic  ideal  which  declares 
that  all  man  needs  is  bread ;  which  makes  bread  a  basis  for  a 
kingdom.  Men  were  acting  as  though  a  kingdom  depended 
upon  things  material  alone.  Of  course  this  is  the  reduction 
of  the  philosophy  to  its  simplest  formula.  Nearer  the  end 
of  His  ministry  there  came  a  day  when  multitudes  would 
fain  have  made  Him  King,  because  He  had  fed  them ;  and 
He  declined  to  be  crowned  King  upon  that  basis. 

»  Matt.  iv.  4.  >  Ibid,^  iv.  7.  ^  Ibid.t  iv.  10. 


The  Existing  Anarchy  235 

Secondly,  the  false  ideal  of  selfishness  is  exposed  ;  the  ideal 
that  within  the  Kingdom,  if  you  recognize  spiritual  things, 
they  are  to  be  recognized  in  order  to  the  enrichment  and  the 
comfort  of  those  who  receive  them.  That  was  the  central 
thought. 

Finally  the  ideal  of  political  intrigue,  the  suggestion  that 
by  diplomatic  arrangement  and  compromise  kingdoms  may 
be  federated  into  a  kingdom. 

Turning  from  that  very  brief  glance  at  the  temptation,  to 
the  Manifesto  of  the  King  uttered  in  Galilee,  we  recognize 
how  entirely  opposed  it  is  to  the  conceptions  which  men  held 
at  that  time ;  and  indeed,  how  entirely  opposed  it  is  to  the 
conceptions  which  men  still  have,  as  to  what  a  world  king- 
dom ought  to  be.  From  that  Manifesto  I  take  three  very 
familiar  sayings.  First  the  key-note,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor 
in  spirit :  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven."  *  When 
dealing  with  law  He  declared  that  law  is  spiritual,  and  that 
there  is  no  morality  which  is  final  and  sufiicient,  other  than 
the  morality  inspired  by  religion.  Concerning  anxiety  He 
bade  His  subjects  not  to  be  anxious  what  they  shall  eat,  or 
what  they  shall  drink,  or  how  they  shall  be  clothed  ;  but  to  be 
anxious  about  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness. 

To  examine  these  ideals  is  at  once  to  discover  how  false 
are  the  ideals  of  men.  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for 
theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,"  ^  Do  men  even  yet  be- 
lieve that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  to  be  possessed  and  estab- 
lished by  poverty  of  spirit  in  the  sense  in  which  our  Lord 
used  the  word  ?  Morality  must  be  spiritual.  There  is  no 
challenge  to  immorality  other  than  religion.  Men  endeavour 
to  challenge  immorality  by  all  sorts  of  traditions,  rules,  and 
regulations;  and  to  check  vulgarities  by  legislation.  Men  are 
overwhelmingly  anxious  about  the  things  of  to-morrow,  and 
about  the  material  necessities  of  to-day. 
1  Matt  V  J 


236  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

As  Jesus  looked  out  upon  His  age  He  saw  these  false 
ideals  mastering  men,  holding  them  in  their  grasp,  condition- 
ing their  attitudes  and  their  activities.  The  persistent  op- 
position to  His  teaching  from  the  commencement  of  His 
public  ministry  until  the  tragedy  of  Calvary,  is  a  revelation 
of  the  accuracy  of  His  measurement  of  these  ideals.  Why 
did  they  crucify  our  Lord  ?  Asking  the  question, — not  as 
within  that  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God, 
to  which  we  shall  have  to  make  reference  again  ere  we  have 
done  with  the  subject  of  the  Kingdom; — but  purely  as 
within  the  experiences  and  the  doings  of  the  hour  in  which 
He  lived,  we  have  to  reply,  simply  because  they  would  not 
accept  His  ideals.  He  was  a  Teacher  contradicting  all  the 
conceptions  upon  which  they  were  basing  conduct ;  saying 
to  them.  Repent,  change  your  mind  ;  your  deeds  are  wrong 
because  your  outlook  is  wrong,  and  your  conceptions  are 
wrong.  They  would  not  hear  and  obey  ;  and  the  only 
alternative  from  their  standpoint  was  that  of  silencing  His 
voice,  and  putting  Him  away. 

He  revealed  in  His  teaching,  not  only  that  men  were 
actuated  by  false  ideals,  but  that  they  were  living  under  a 
false  rule.  It  is  never  to  be  lost  sight  of  that  every  stern 
word  of  Jesus,  and  all  His  rebukes  were  reserved  for  the 
rulers  ;  and  all  the  way  through  His  ministry  we  discover, 
not  their  opposition  alone,  but  also  His  criticism  of  theii 
position.  He  was  perpetually,  in  direct  word  and  in  para- 
ble, unmasking  them,  attemptmg  to  show  the  men  of  His 
age  wherein  the  rulers  failed;  and  how  they  were  all  under 
false  rule,  the  rulers  themselves  being  under  the  rule  of 
their  own  false  ideals. 

In  one  of  His  final  parables  uttered  to  the  rulers  He  re- 
vealed the  principle  of  all  false  authority  as  He  said,  "  Let 
us  .  .  .  take  His  inheritance.'*  *  So  said  the  rulers 
»  Matt.  xxi.  38. 


The  Existing  Anarchy  237 

according  to  Jesus ;  and  the  false  principle  of  all  false 
authority  was  that  of  self-centred  consideration.  In  this 
view  the  Lord's  teaching  harmonized  perfectly  with  the 
prophetic  denunciations  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 
"  Woe  unto  the  shepherds  of  Israel  !  "  '  Why  ?  Because 
when  they  should  feed  the  sheep,  they  are  feeding  them- 
selves. When  they  should  shepherd  and  guard  the  sheep, 
they  are  seeking  to  be  guarded  themselves.  It  was  Homer 
who  said  all  kings  are  shepherds  of  the  people.  One 
wonders  sometimes  if  it  would  not  have  been  more  true  to 
human  history  if  Homer  had  said  all  kings  ought  to  be 
shepherds  of  the  people.  But  men  seek  positions  of  author- 
ity, not  in  the  interests  of  the  governed,  but  in  their  own 
interest. 

Consequently  the  method  was  a  false  method.  Yet  a 
little  later  in  His  ministry,  in  that  final  hour  of  conflict 
with  the  rulers.  He  exposed  these  methods  when  He  said, 
"  They  bind  heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be  borne,  and 
lay  them  on  men's  shoulders ;  but  they  themselves  will  not 
move  them  with  their  finger."  ^  I  go  back  to  Isaiah  for 
illustration  of  the  difference  between  the  rule  of  God  and 
the  false  reign  of  idols.  A  man  takes  and  cuts  down  a 
tree,  and  uses  part  for  purposes  of  his  own  need,  and  with 
the  residue  he  maketh  him  an  idol ;  and  then  he  carries  his 
idol.  Jehovah  God  carries  men  who  serve  Him.  That  is 
the  difference.  They,  the  false  rulers,  bind  burdens  on 
others.  The  God  Who  is  the  one  Ruler  bids  men  roll 
their  burden  on  Him. 

So  that  our  Lord  revealed  the  fact  that  according  to  His 
conception,  when  lawmakers  make  laws  that  are  burdens 
that  men  have  to  carry,  it  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  first 
principles  of  law  within  the  Kingdom  of  God.  And  to  go 
back  to  an  earlier  passage  in  Matthew,  according  to  the 
»  Ezek.  xxxiv.  2.  "  Matt,  xxiii.  4. 


l^S  V   The  Teaching  of  Christ 

teaching  of  Jesus,  what  was  the  issue  of  this  false  rule^ 
whose  principle  was  selfishness,  whose  method  was  that  of 
binding  burdens  ?  When  He  beheld  the  multitude  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd  He  saw  those  multitudes  "distressed 
.  .  .  scattered  "  j  ^  fainting,  harried  by  wolves,  fleeced 
and  homeless,  none  to  care  for  them,  or  to  bind  their  wounds. 
The  issue  of  false  rule  is  the  distress  and  the  scattering  of 
the  people.  Only  remember  that  while  the  picture  as  our 
Lord  saw  it  must  ever  appeal  to  our  compassion  also,  yet 
no  one  else  saw  the  people  in  that  condition.  The  people 
then  were  as  satisfied  as  are  the  people  of  London  to-day. 
The  people  were  just  as  sure  they  were  doing  well,  as  are 
the  people  in  our  own  times,  who  are  independent  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  It  was  only  the  King,  Who  saw  the 
Kingdom  of  God  as  it  ought  to  be.  Who  also  understood 
the  real  ruin  and  degradation  of  men. 

The  final  manifestation  of  anarchy  to  which  our  Lord 
referred  was  not  merely  that  men  had  false  ideals,  and  that 
they  were  living  under  a  false  rule,  and  exercising  a  false 
rule,  but  that  they  were  perverse.  In  the  parable  of  the 
pounds  we  discover  our  Lord's  central  conception  of  exist- 
ing anarchy.  The  reason  of  the  parable  is  given  in  the 
words,  "  As  they  heard  these  things.  He  added  and  spake  a 
parable,  because  He  was  nigh  to  Jerusalem,  and  because  they 
supposed  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  immediately  to  ap- 
pear." ^  At  the  heart  of  the  parable  we  find  these  words : 
"  His  citizens  hated  him,  and  sent  an  embassage  after  him, 
saying.  We  will  not  that  this  man  reign  over  us. "^  His 
disciples  and  others  thought  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  would 
immediately  appear.  He  said  to  them  in  effect :  The 
Kingdom  of  God  cannot  appear.  Behold  the  anarchy. 
Look  at  the  condition  of  affairs.  The  citizens  of  the 
Kingdom  will  not  have  the  King;  they  will  reject  the 
1  Matt.  ix.  36.  '  Luke  xix.  1 1-37.  •  /^/«/.,  xix.  14. 


The  Existing  Anarchy  239 

King;  they  will  cast  the  King  out.  That  was  His  out- 
look upon  the  supreme  difficulty,  that  of  the  perversity  of 
the  human  heart,  having  its  own  false  ideal,  exercising  and 
submitting 'to  its  own  false  rule,  and  perverse. 

Until  this  hour  that  is  the  difficulty.  It  is  the  final  diffi- 
culty. False  ideals  are  still  governing  men.  False  rule  is 
still  being  exercised  and  submitted  to.  Ideals  entirely  at 
variance  with  the  ideals  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  our 
Lord  revealed  them ;  a  rule  entirely  out  of  harmony  with 
the  rule  of  God  as  made  clear  to  us  in  the  person  of  our 
Lord.  But  the  supreme  difficulty  is  that  men  are  perverse ; 
that  they  are  still  saying,  We  will  not  have  this  man  to 
reign  over  us.  We  shall  never  be  able  to  establish  the 
Kingdom  of  God  until  that  perversity  is  dealt  with.  Until 
that  perversity  in  some  way  is  overcome ;  until  the  will  of 
man  is  turned  into  harmony  with  the  will  of  God  ;  we  shall 
never  establish  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  world. 

Now  rapidly  let  me  gather  up  His  teaching  concerning 
the  reasons  of  this  anarchy.  We  may  summarize  them 
thus  : — Blindness  ;  spiritual  slavery  ;  and  spiritual  death. 

Blindness.  His  very  first  reference  to  the  Kingdom  is 
recorded  in  these  words,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  anew,  he 
cannot  see  the  Kingdom  of  God."  ^  He  explicitly  de- 
clared the  fact  of  this  blindness  to  the  disciples,  when  upon 
one  occasion  referring  to  the  rulers  He  said,  "  They  are 
blind  guides.  And  if  the  blind  guide  the  blind,  both  shall 
fall  into  a  pit."  ^  And  again  in  holy  satire,  when  in  con- 
flict with  the  Pharisees,  He  said  to  them,  "  If  ye  were 
blind,  ye  would  have  no  sin  :  but  now  ye  say,  We  see  : 
your  sin  remaineth  "  ;  ^  a  revelation  of  the  fact  that  whereas 
there  was  blindness,  it  had  become  willful  blindness  in  the 
presence  of  the  light  that  He  had  brougnt  to  men  on  the 
subject  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Men  do  not  see  the 
1  John  iii.  3.  «  Matt.  xv.  14.  •  John  ix.  40,  41. 


240  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

Kingdom  of  God,  and  blind  guides  are  leading  blind  people, 
with  the  result  that  all  fall  into  the  pit.  And  wherever  the 
light  of  His  revelation  has  come,  men  are  willfully  blind  j 
not  all,  of  course,  for  there  were  those  around  the  Lord 
who  were  walking  in  the  light,  and  were  obedient  thereto, 
and  had  healing,  and  their  sight  came. 

But  the  revelation  that  our  Lord  in  His  teaching  made 
of  the  reason  of  the  anarchy  goes  deeper  still.  He  declared, 
in  symbol  and  parable  and  by  explicit  word,  that  men  are 
in  spiritual  slavery.  In  answer  to  the  charge  of  complicity 
with  Beelzebub  which  they  made  against  Him,  He  said, 
"  When  the  strong  man  fully  armed  guardeth  his  own  court, 
his  goods  are  in  peace."  *  That  was  His  picture  of  the 
times.  The  strong  man  fully  armed  was  Satan  ;  guarding 
his  own  court,  his  goods  were  in  peace.  But  when  a 
stronger  than  he  comes,  he  dispossesses  the  strong  man. 
That  was  our  Lord's  claim  for  Himself,  that  He  was  stronger 
than  Satan.  He  looked  at  the  Pharisees,  the  rulers,  and  the 
people,  and  He  said.  Here  is  the  reason  of  your  blindness. 
You  are  under  the  dominion  of  Satan  ;  a  strong  man  armed 
holds  you  fast  and  safely  ;  and  there  is  no  breaking  away  from 
that  bondage  unless  a  stronger  than  he  come  to  deliver  you. 

In  continuation  of  that  parable  He  spoke  another,  that 
weird  parable  of  the  empty  house,  the  house  from  which 
the  evil  spirit  had  been  dislodged,  but  which  finding  no  new 
tenant,  the  evil  spirit  returned  with  seven  other  spirits,  and 
whose  last  state  was  worse  than  the  first.^  That  gives  us 
our  Lord's  view  of  men  as  under  the  mastery  of  evil  spirits. 
At  last  He  said  to  the  men  who  were  opposing  Him,  in 
terms  so  explicit  as  to  be  full  of  terror  until  this  time,  "  Ye 
are  of  your  father  the  devil,"  "  a  murderer  from  the  begin- 
ning," "a  liar  and  the  father  thereof";^  therefore  you 
murder  and  you  lie. 

1  Luke  xi.  31.  '  Ibid.,  xi.  24-26.  'John  viii.  44. 


The  Existing  Anarchy  241 

Jesus  looked  out,  and  He  saw  false  ideals,  false  rule,  per- 
versity, and  why  ?  Because  men  were  blind,  and  could  not 
see.  And  why  ?  Because  they  were  mastered  by  evil,  by 
evil  spirits,  by  spiritual  antagonisms.  That  teaching  was 
revolutionary  in  His  day,  and  it  is  still ;  and  it  is  because 
we  have  lost  sight  of  it,  that  we  do  not  understand  how  to 
deal  with  the  problems  that  confront  the  Christian  Church. 

Finally  our  Lord  taught  that  men  are  blind  and  in  spir- 
itual slavery.  They  are  spiritually  dead.  One  word  is 
enough,  that  startling  word  of  Jesus,  so  easily  read,  but  so 
searching,  how  when  a  man  said  to  Him  under  a  holy  im- 
pulse, "  Lord,  suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father," 
He  replied,  "  Leave  the  dead  to  bury  their  own  dead."  * 
That  father  was  not  physically  dead.  That  was  not  a  re- 
quest to  remain  to  a  funeral.  It  was  a  request  to  remain 
for  years,  perhaps,  to  take  care  of  his  father.  Christ's  out- 
look upon  men  is  that  they  are  spiritually  dead,  because 
severea  from  the  life  and  from  the  virtue  that  come  from 
fellowship  with  God ;  in  anarchy,  because  under  a  spiritual 
domination  which  is  evil. 

And  so  finally  what  appeal  did  anarchy  make  to  Him  ? 
He  saw  it  clearly,  and  He  had  come  to  establish  the  King- 
dom of  God.  In  order  to  do  that,  what  were  the  things 
needed  in  view  of  the  anarchy  ?  First  that  there  should  be 
a  clear  revelation  of  true  authority.  All  we  have  said  as  to 
blindness  reveals  this.  Read  once  more  in  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  Matthew  the  paragraph  on  John  in  prison  ;  and 
immediately  following  it,  on  the  unreasonableness  of  the 
generation ;  and  immediately  following  it,  on  the  unre- 
pentant cities.  It  moves  on  until  Christ  said,  "  I  thank 
Thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  Thou 
didst  hide  these  things  from  the  wise  and  understanding, 
and  didst  reveal  them  unto  babes  :  yea,  Father,  for  so  it  was 
*  Luke  ix.  59,  60. 


242  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

well-pleasing  in  Thy  sight.'*  And  then  turning  from  ad- 
dress to  heaven,  He  faced  the  multitude  in  their  blindness, 
and  He  said,  "No  one  knoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father*, 
neither  doth  any  know  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to 
whomsoever  the  Son  willeth  to  reveal  Him.  Come  unto 
Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden."  *  In  that 
general  survey  we  discover  that  Christ  claimed  to  be  able  to 
reveal  to  men  the  true  authority,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  led  back  to  submission  thereto. 

But  that  was  not  enough.  Not  merely  does  anarchy  ask 
for  the  revelation  of  the  true  authority  ;  it  asks  for  power 
to  dispossess,  and  to  repossess.  It  asks  for  the  Stronger 
than  the  strong  man  armed,  in  order  that  the  strong  man 
armed  may  be  despoiled.  It  asks  for  a  tenant  to  indwell 
the  house;  for  it  is  not  enough  to  cast  the  evil  spirit  out, 
and  leave  the  house  swept  and  garnished.  There  must  be 
an  Indweller,  Who  shall  hold  and  possess  it ;  or  else  sevcM 
other  evil  spirits  may  enter  in,  and  make  the  last  case  worse 
than  the  first.  Anarchy  is  asking  for  some  One  mighty 
enough  to  master  the  strong  man  armed,  and  dwell  in  the 
house,  and  hold  it  as  against  his  power. 

Consequently  anarchy  demands  spiritual  renewal.  Men 
cannot  see  the  Kingdom.  Then  they  must  have  life,  be 
born  from  above,  in  which  life  shall  come  new  vision. 
They  cannot  enter  it.  Then  they  need  new  life,  in  order 
that  in  the  power  of  that  life  they  may  enter  in,  and  abide. 

The  Lord  saw  the  rule  of  God,  and  the  realm  over 
which  that  rule  might  be  exercised,  and  the  glorious  re- 
sults that  would  follow  therein;  but  He  also  saw  the  rule 
disobeyed,  because  another  rule  was  obeyed  ;  He  saw  the 
realm  desolate  over  which  God  should  reign  ;  and  conse- 
quently all  the  gracious  results  absent  in  human  life  indi- 
vidually, socially,  nationally,  and  racially.  Therefore  He 
1  Matt.  xi.  25-28. 


The  Existing  Anarchy  243 

knew  that  in   order  to  establish  the  rule,  the  anarchy  must 
be  dealt  with,  not  superficially,  but  radically. 

How  far  is  all  this  true  to-day  ?  How  far  is  it  true  to- 
day that  there  is  an  existing  anarchy,  whose  manifestations 
are  false  ideals,  false  rule,  perversity,  whose  reasons  are  hu- 
man blindness,  the  dominion  of  evil  spiritual  forces,  and 
consequently  spiritual  death  ?  In  the  measure  in  which 
these  things  abide,  they  are  still  making  their  appeal  to  the 
King,  asking  for  authority,  asking  for  a  power  that  operates 
towards  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  asking  for  life  that  mer 
may  see  and  enter  in. 


IV.     THE  REDEMPTIVE  PROCESSES^- 
THE  CROSS 


««  Thou  art  the  Christ  the  Son  of  the  living  God."— Mat^^rw  xvi.  i6. 

**  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  :  and  what* 
«oever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven :  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." — xvi.  ig. 

♦'  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  show  unto  His  disciples,  how  that  He 
must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief 
priests  and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  the  third  day  be  raised  up." — 


"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  There  be  some  of  them  that  stand  here,  which 
shall  in  no  wise  taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  His 
Kingdom." — xvi.  28. 

«  And  behold,  there  appeared  unto  them  Moses  and  Elijah  talking  with 
Him.  And  Peter  answered,  and  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us 
to  be  here :  if  Thou  wilt,  I  will  make  here  three  tabernacles ;  one  for 
Thee,  and  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah.  "While  he  was  yet  speaking, 
behold,  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  them  :  and  behold,  a  voice  out  of  the 
cloud,  saying,  This  is  My  beloved  Son,  in  Whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear 
ye  Him." — xvii.  j-j. 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  heaven.  Whosoever  there- 
fore shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  the  greatest  in 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven." — xviii.  j,  4. 


"  Therefore  doth  the  Father  love  Me,  because  I  lay  down  My  life,  that 
I  may  take  it  again.  No  one  taketh  it  away  from  Me,  but  I  lay  it  down 
of  Myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it 
again.     This  commandment  received  I  from  My  Father." — John  x.  17, 18. 

"  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus.  .  .  .  The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of 
Man  should  be  glorified.  .  .  .  Father,  glorify  Thy  name.  There 
came  therefore  a  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  I  have  both  glorified  it,  and 
will  glorify  it  again.  .  .  .  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world :  now 
shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out.  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from 
the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Myself." — xii.  zi,  ;?j,  28,^1,32. 

"  My  Kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  :  if  My  Kingdom  were  of  this  world, 
then  would  My  servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews: 
but  now  is  My  Kingdom  not  from  hence.  Pilate  therefore  said  unto  Him, 
Art  Thou  a  King  then  ?  Jesus  answered.  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  King. 
To  this  end  have  I  been  born,  and  to  this  end  am  I  come  into  the  world, 
that  I  should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth." — xviii.  j6,  J7. 


IV 

THE  REDEMPTIVE  PROCESSES— THE  CROSS 

We  now  proceed  to  consider  the  teaching  of  our  Lord 
concerning  the  redemptive  processes  for  the  establishment 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth. 

The  contrast  between  the  fundamental  conception  of 
Jesus  as  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  His  view  of  the  ex- 
isting anarchy  is  complete.  On  the  one  hand  He  saw 
clearly  what  the  rule  of  God  over  the  realm  of  the  whole 
earth  and  all  men  would  be ;  and  how  glorious  the  results, 
harmonizing  with  His  nature  of  holiness  and  love.  But  on 
the  other  hand  He  saw  that  rule  of  God  unknown  or  disre- 
garded, and  the  realm  consequently  in  chaos ;  with  results  of 
abounding  pollution,  and  all  that  was  contrary  to  love.  He 
claimed,  as  we  have  seen,  that  in  His  coming  the  Kingdom  was 
brought  to  men.  His  mission  then  most  evidently  was  that 
of  dealing  with  the  anarchy,  in  order  to  restore  the  Kingdom. 

We  turn  now  to  consider  His  own  teaching  as  to  the 
processes  by  which  this  is  to  be  accomplished.  Let  it  be 
immediately  recognized  that  in  all  His  teaching  there  is  no 
trace  of  a  tremor  or  a  doubt.  He  never  spoke  speculatively 
as  to  the  ultimate  issue.  He  moved  quietly  and  calmly  for- 
ward, both  in  word  and  deed,  towards  a  consummation  of 
which  He  Himself  had  no  doubt.  Keenly  conscious  of  the 
anarchy,  protesting  against  it,  thundering  against  it,  weep- 
ing over  it ;  He  nevertheless  walked  ever  in  the  light  of 
the  glory  that  is  to  be ;  the  calm  assurance  filling  His  heart 
from  the  beginning  of  His  ministry  to  the  end,  that  at  last, 
though  a  wide  compass  first  be  fetched,  the  Kingdom  of 
God  must  be  established. 

,       247 


248  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

In  His  teaching  we  have  very  clear  evidences  of  His  own 
conceptions  as  to  how  that  consummation  is  to  be  reached. 
That  teaching  may  thus  be  summarized.  He  declared  that 
the  Kingdom  can  only  be  established  by  the  way  of  the 
Cross.  He  declared  that  the  instrument  through  which  He 
would  move  towards  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom 
would  be  His  Church.  He  declared  that  throughout  the 
processes  there  would  be  a  persistence  of  very  definite  and 
severe  conflict.  He  declared  that  these  processes  would  be 
completed  by  the  crisis  of  His  advent,  in  order  to  the  ulti- 
mate establishment  of  the  Kingdom. 

Our  present  subject  is  that  of  His  teaching  concerning 
the  way  of  the  Cross.  The  facts  concerning  our  Lord's 
teaching  on  this  matter  are  :  first,  that  after  the  confession 
of  Peter  at  Caesarea  Philippi  He  explicitly  declared  the 
necessity  for  the  Cross  j  secondly,  that  this  necessity  was 
constantly  reaffirmed  during  the  days  following  that  first 
declaration;  and  thirdly,  that  in  all  His  subsequent  special 
teaching  of  His  disciples,  the  principle  of  the  Cross  was 
evidently  in  His  mind,  and  illustrated  in  many  ways. 

Let  us  take  first,  the  explicit  statements  ;  and  secondly, 
some  of  the  instances  of  illustration. 

First,  then,  as  to  the  explicit  statements  of  our  Lord  con- 
cerning the  Cross.  With  the  details  we  are  not  now  con- 
cerned. They  are  perfectly  plain  and  unmistakable.  Our 
business  is  that  of  observing  the  relation  of  these  statements 
to  His  Kingdom  ideals  and  purposes.  For  this  purpose  we 
may  confine  our  attention  to  the  first  occasion,  that  of 
Caesarea  Philippi,  for  all  subsequent  explicit  declarations 
were  exactly  of  the  same  nature. 

Let  us,  then,  first  carefully  observe  the  facts  of  relation- 
ship between  the  Cross  and  the  Kingdom  as  they  are  revealed 
in  this  teaching ;  proceeding  in  the  second  place  to  consider 
the  reason  of  that  relationship. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Cross     249 

First,  then,  as  to  the  facts.  The  whole  pronouncement  at 
Caesarea  Philippi  must  always  be  borne  in  mind  when  any 
part  of  it  is  under  consideration.  To  take  some  one  declara- 
tion, and  not  to  consider  it  in  the  light  of  the  whole,  may 
be  to  misinterpret  it  entirely.  This  was  the  hour  of  the  great 
confession,  the  hour  in  which  in  answer  to  the  challenge  of 
the  Master,  Peter,  spokesman  of  the  rest  of  the  disciples, 
said  to  Him,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God."  *  That  was  the  confession  of  a  Hebrew,  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  the  Messiah  j  the  One  for  Whom  his  people  had 
been  waiting  for  centuries  and  millenniums.  It  was  a  con- 
fession that  at  last  the  King  had  appeared.  Who  had  been 
foretold  by  prophets,  seers,  and  psalmists  in  bygone  days. 
At  last  He  had  come,  the  King  ;  and  He  had  come  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Kingdom.  That  was  certainly  the 
meaning  of  the  confession  from  the  standpoint  of  the  He- 
brew. "  Thou  art  the  Messiah,"  not  Elijah,  not  Jeremiah, 
not  John  the  Baptist,  not  one  of  the  prophets  ;  but  the  One 
for  Whose  coming  all  had  looked,  and  the  purpose  of  Whose 
coming  all  had  in  greater  or  less  degree  mdicated,  in  the 
course  of  their  prophetic  ministry.  Thou  art  the  King. 
Thou  art  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 
I  Now  observe  what  Christ  said  in  answer  to  that  confession. 
He  declared  four  things  in  close  connection :  first,  the  secret  ot 
the  Church  j  secondly,  the  necessity  for  the  Cross  ;  thirdly, 
the  inevitability  of  a  conflict ;  and  finally,  the  certainty  of  the 
crisis  of  His  own  second  advent.  The  first  matter  to  be  noted 
is  that  of  the  unity  of  these  things  in  the  declaration  of  Jesus. 

Confining  ourselves  to  the  subject  particularly  before  us, 
we  notice  in  the  course  of  this  teaching  two  definite  refer- 
ences to  the  Kingdom ;  first  when  He  said  to  Peter  con- 
cerning the  Church,  "  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven  "  ;  ^  and  again,  when  at  the  close  of  the 
^  Matt.  xvi.  16.  >  Ibid.,  xvi.  19. 


250  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

discourse  He  uttered  the  words  :  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
There  be  some  of  them  that  stand  here,  which  shall  in  no 
wise  taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in 
His  Kingdom."  ^  The  whole  thought  of  Jesus  was  moving 
within  the  realm  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  Cross  is 
not  something  as  apart  from  the  Kingdom.  It  was  most 
evidently  and  intimately  associated  in  the  mind  of  our  Lord 
with  the  Kingdom  purpose. 

He  declared  that  in  order  to  the  establishment  of  that 
Kingdom  He  must  go  to  the  Cross.  The  muit  that  declared 
the  necessity  for  the  Cross  declared  the  necessity  for  the  Cross 
in  the  interest  of  the  Kingdom.  The  joy  that  was  set  before 
Him  was  that  of  the  Kingdom  established,  the  establishment 
of  the  rule  of  God  over  the  realm  of  the  whole  earth,  with 
the  gracious  results  of  holiness  and  love,  and  the  consequent 
blessedness  of  humanity  ;  and  He  distinctly  said  that  in  order 
to  reach  that  goal.  He  must  go  by  the  way  of  the  Cross. 

Reverently  then,  let  us  press  a  little  closer  to  these  asser- 
tions, and  inquire  the  reason.  How  far  does  this  particular 
passage  and  these  repeated  explicit  declarations  throw  light 
upon  this  subject  ?  The  King  said  that  He  must  go  by  the 
way  of  the  Cross,  thus  affirming  the  necessity  for  it.  Does 
He  give  us  in  any  measure  to  see  the  reason  for  that 
necessity  ?  The  answer  is  self-evident.  The  reason  why 
He  must  go  by  the  way  of  the  Cross  is  first  of  all  to  be  dis- 
covered in  the  anarchy  in  the  midst  of  which  He  lived.  It 
is  secondly  to  be  discovered  in  the  authority  under  which 
He  was  acting  in  His  mission  in  the  world.  And  finally 
it  is  explained  by  His  activity  under  that  authority  in 
the  midst  of  that  anarchy. 

The  anarchy  is  focussed,  and  focussed  in  a  way  that  I 
think  we  are  apt  to  see  but  dimly,  in  this  first  explicit  dec- 
laration of  our  Lord.  He  said  the  Son  of  Man  "  must  go 
»  Matt.  xvi.  28. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Cross     251 

to  Jerusalem,  and  suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief 
priests^  and  scribes"  *  These  were  all  distinctly  named  by 
our  Lord  at  that  point,  because  in  the  naming  of  them  He 
covered  the  whole  ground  of  the  forces  that  were  antago- 
nistic to  Him  and  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  Sanhedrim 
was  composed  of  these  different  orders,  all  exercising 
authority  ;  the  elders,  the  chief  priests,  and  the  scribes.  First 
we  have  what  to-day  we  should  speak  of  as  the  lay  authority, 
or  the  civic  authority,  that  of  the  elders.  The  authority 
of  the  Jewish  State,  as  it  existed  at  that  moment  in  Jerusa- 
lem, was  vested  in  them.  Then  we  have  the  religious 
authority  of  the  hour  as  it  was  vested  in  the  chief  priests. 
And  finally  we  have  the  ethical  authority  of  the  hour  as  it 
was  vested  in  the  order  of  the  scribes.  Now  the  Lord  dis- 
tinctly declared  that  all  these  phases  of  authority  that 
gathered  within  the  Sanhedrim  would  be  against  Him,  and 
that  at  their  hands  He  must  suffer.  The  lay  authority  of 
the  elders,  the  religious  authority  of  the  chief  priests,  the 
ethical  authority  of  the  scribes  ;  all  were  against  Him.  All 
authority  was  degraded,  all  authority  was  false,  and  all 
authority  was  antagonistic.  He  being  the  Representative  of 
the  Divine  authority,  the  King  Himself  appointed  of  God 
over  the  Kingdom  of  God,  faced  the  opposition  to  that 
Kingdom  as  it  was  focussed  in  those  who  were  themselves 
in  authority.  The  causes  of  their  opposition  we  need  not 
now  deal  with.  We  have  already  done  so  when  speaking 
of  the  existing  anarchy.  The  results  of  the  reign  of  these 
men,  of  their  rule  and  their  authority,  were  manifested  in  the 
condition  of  the  people,  over  which  Christ  mourned.  They 
were  as  sheep,  scattered,  fleeced,  harried,  having  no  shepherd. 
Into  that  atmosphere,  which  was  the  atmosphere  of  anarchy, 
of  antagonism  to  the  reign  of  God,  He  went.  It  was  in  view 
of  these  things  that  He  declared  He  must  go  to  the  Cross. 
1  Matt.  xvi.  21. 


2^2  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

But  we  are  immediately  conscious  of  the  fact  that  this  has 
;iot  brought  us  to  the  deepest  note  as  to  the  necessity  for 
the  Cross.  Why  not  leave  these  anarchists  to  work  out 
their  own  anarchy  to  its  end,  which  must  mevitably  be 
destruction  ?  Why  the  must  of  Jesus  ?  We  give  the 
central  answer  when  we  declare  that  the  necessity  for  the 
Cross  was  not  the  anarchy  alone,  but  the  authority  under 
which  He  was  moving.  That  is  clearly  revealed  in  His 
own  words,  not  recorded  by  Matthew,  but  by  John. 
"  Therefore  doth  the  Father  love  Me,  because  I  lay  down 
My  life,  that  I  may  take  it  again.  No  one  taketh  it  away 
from  Me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  Myself.  I  have  authority  to 
lay  it  down,  and  I  have  authority  to  take  it  again.  This 
commandment  received  I  from  My  Father."  '  By  that  dec- 
laration of  the  Lord  Himself  we  learn  that  the  necessity 
for  the  Cross  was  created  by  the  nature  of  God,  which  is 
love  ;  and  that  the  compulsion  of  His  determination  to  es- 
tablish His  reign  of  love  was  the  central  factor  in  the  must 
of  Jesus.  It  may  be  said,  and  with  a  partial  accuracy,  that 
the  reason  for  the  Cross  was  the  necessity  for  the  establish- 
ment of  righteousness ;  that  the  profoundest  reason  for  the 
Cross  is  to  be  discovered  in  the  holiness  of  God.  But  might 
not  the  principle  of  righteousness  have  been  satisfied,  if  we 
take  the  principle  of  righteousness  alone,  by  the  sweeping 
out  of  the  things  that  offended,  by  the  destruction  and  anni- 
hilation of  all  evil  men  and  things  ?  I  affirm  that  this  prin- 
ciple might  have  been  satisfied  in  that  way.  But  when  be- 
hind righteousness,  inspiring  it,  is  love,  then  the  necessity 
is  created  for  dealing  with  anarchy,  and  with  the  men 
steeped  therein,  in  such  a  way  as  to  save  the  men.  "This 
commandment  received  I  from  My  Father."  The  King 
moved  towards  the  focussed  manifestation  and  expression  of 
anarchy  in  the  opposition  of  elders,  chief  priests,  and  scribes  j 
1  John  X.  17,  18. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Cross     253 

and  He  moved  towards  it,  because  it  must  be  dealt  with  in 
such  a  way  as  to  save  the  men  ;  and  it  must  be  dealt  with 
in  that  way  because  God  is  love.  His  determination  was 
to  establish  anew  the  kingdom  of  love  and  light  and  life 
where  anarchy  reigned,  and  amongst  men  who  were  suffer- 
ing as  the  result  of  sin. 

We  have  the  explanation  of  the  necessity  most  perfectly 
revealed  in  the  actual  activity,  wherein,  again  to  refer  to  the 
word  in  John,  He  laid  down  His  life.  In  the  hour  of  that 
Cross  He  experienced  the  ultimate  of  anarchy.  Sin  ex- 
pressed itself  completely  and  finally  when  it  flung  itself 
against  Him.  In  the  Cross  I  see  the  unmasking  and  un- 
veiling of  sin  as  it  came  to  its  most  appalling  and  final  ex- 
pression in  human  history.  There  is  no  other  problem  of 
evil  so  terrific  as  the  Cross.  In  the  annals  of  history  there 
was  never  any  such  naked,  awful  manifestation  of  evil  as 
the  action  that  put  Him  on  the  Cross ;  and  to  that  bursting 
of  the  storm  of  evil  He  bared  His  own  bosom  ;  He  gathered 
all  into  His  own  Person.  That  is  the  holy  of  holies  !  That 
is  the  central  and  constant  mystery  !  I  cannot  apprehend 
all  that  transaction,  because  I  cannot  apprehend  the  Person 
-.vho  accomplished  it. 

,  If  I  had  no  more  than  His  declaration  of  intention,  and 
the  fact  of  the  Cross ;  if  I  had  seen  Him  move  thus  hero- 
ically to  face  the  anarchy,  to  gather  its  ultimate  issue  into 
His  own  heart,  and  nothing  more  ;  His  heroism  would  be  to 
me  finer  and  more  wonderful  than  the  mind  of  man  had 
ever  dreamed  ;  but  neither  for  myself,  nor  for  the  world 
should  I  have  either  light,  or  hope,  or  expectation  of  ulti- 
mate results.  The  Cross  would  be  a  forlorn  hope,  the 
heroism  of  an  uttermost  despair,  the  splendid  dream  of  a 
misguided  enthusiast,  and  nothing  more.  But  when,  ac- 
cording to  His  own  constantly  repeated  affirmation  that  He 
would  rise  again,  I  see  Him  rise  again;  then  I  discover  that 


254  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

in  the  mystery  of  that  Cross,  He  was  not  only  the  Sin- 
bearer  ;  in  the  activities  of  that  dark  hour,  He  was  the  Sin- 
destroyer  ;  in  some  infinite  transaction  beyond  human  power 
of  thought,  He  destroyed  the  works  of  the  devil.  That  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  He  emerged  from  the  dark  hour 
triumphant  in  the  glory  of  His  resurrection.  So,  by  these 
activities,  I  have  an  interpretation  of  the  meaning  of  His 
declaration  as  to  the  necessity  for  the  Cross.  In  order  to 
establish  the  Kingdom  He  must  Himself  gather  the  sin  to 
Himself,  and  deal  with  it,  grapple  with  it,  master  it,  nega- 
tive it ;  and,  emerging  from  the  struggle  victorious,  com- 
municate life,  in  the  power  of  which  other  souls  shall  be 
able  to  enter  into  the  same  struggle,  and  with  a  like  result. 
Thus  in  order  to  establish  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  an  in- 
dividual, He  dealt  with  that  which  had  destroyed  the  King- 
dom of  God  J  and  created  for  men  a  new  liberty  of  action, 
both  spiritual  and  moral.  He  must  go  to  the  Cross  in  order 
to  reach  the  Kingdom,  because  His  Kingdom  can  never  be 
finally  established  merely  by  the  exercise  of  an  iron  rule  that 
holds  evil  things  in  suppression.  His  Kingdom  must  be 
finally  established,  a  Kingdom  having  within  it  no  element 
that  destroys,  having  within  it  no  possibility  of  a  new  out- 
break of  anarchy,  or  final  destruction  of  the  high  purposes  of 
God.  Therefore  He  moved  to  that  infinite  mystery  focussed 
in  the  dark  hour  on  the  green  hill ;  and  there  He  took  hold  of 
the  forces  that  had  spoiled,  and  spoiled  them;  of  the  forces  that 
had  destroyed,  to  destroy  them  ;  of  the  evil  things  that  had 
wrought  the  ruin,  in  order  to  ruin  them ;  and  thus  provided  the 
remedy  for  the  individual  soul,  and  ultimately  for  the  race. 
From  this  all  too  rapid  examination  of  the  explicit  state- 
ment and  teaching,  let  us  pass  to  glance  at  some  Instances  of 
His  illustration  of  the  principle  in  His  subsequent  teaching. 
To  make  selections  here  is  very  difficult.  We  shall  simply 
glance  on  a  little  way  in  this  same  Gospel  of  Matthew. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Cross     255 

What  immediately  followed  ?  The  holy  mount.  Each 
evangelist  giving  the  record  of  Caesarea  Philippi  gives  also 
the  record  of  the  holy  mount,  and  links  the  two  events  by  the 
selfsame  declaration  :  "  There  be  some  of  them  that  stand 
here,  which  shall  in  no  wise  taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the 
Son  of  Man  coming  in  His  Kingdom."  '  There  were  far 
wider  values  in  that  declaration  than  I  now  suggest,  but  in 
that  holy  mount  He  gave  some  of  them  to  see  in  picture 
something  of  the  ultimate  Kingdom.  Let  us  then  observe 
it,  noticing  only  two  things  :  the  vision  they  beheld,  and  the 
voice  to  which  they  listened.  What  was  the  vision  of  the 
holy  mount  ?  The  central  fact  is,  that  the  supreme  inter- 
est of  their  glorified  Lord  was  manifested  in  the  subject  of 
His  converse  with  Moses  and  Elijah.  Behold  Him  in  His 
glory.  His  face  as  the  sun  shining  in  its  strength,  His  very 
garments  white  and  glistering  !  Oh,  the  rapture  of  that  hour 
when  the  three  disciples  looked  upon  Him  in  all  the  glory  of 
His  perfected  humanity.  In  such  an  hour,  of  what  did  He 
think,  of  what  did  He  speak  ?  "  There  appeared  unto  them 
Moses  and  Elijah  talking  with  Him  "  ;  ^  and  Luke  tells  us 
that  they  talked  of  the  exodus  which  He  was  about  to  ac- 
complish in  Jerusalem.  He  talked  with  them  of  the  very 
subject  of  which  He  had  spoken  to  these  men  for  the  first 
time  at  Caesarea  Philippi.  He  talked  with  them  not  of  the 
death  He  was  about  to  die  merely.  The  subject  was  far 
more  majestic  and  wonderful  than  that ;  He  talked  of  the 
exodus  He  was  about  to  accomplish.  He  must  go  and  suf- 
fer and  be  killed  and  be  raised.  He  was  going  to  accom- 
plish, not  to  be  defeated  !  He  was  not  moving  to  Jerusalem 
as  a  Victim,  but  as  a  Victor.  There,  on  the  holy  mount, 
the  disciples  heard  Him  talking  about  that  victory  ! 

Was  there  not  at  least  a  remarkable  suggestiveness  in  the 
visitors  whom  they  saw  on  the  holy  mount  ?  Moses,  the 
*  Matt.  xvi.  28.  *  Ibid.f  xvii.  3. 


256  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

founder  of  the  Theocracy.  Elijah,  who  came  into  the  midst 
of  the  period  of  the  degenerate  kingdom,  and  thundered 
against  its  degeneracy.  The  founder  and  the  reformer  talked 
with  the  King  upon  the  holy  mount  of  all  He  was  about  to 
do,  which  they  had  failed  to  do,  and  the  way  of  accomplish- 
ment was  realized  to  be  that  of  the  Cross. 

Then  there  came  the  voice  to  the  disciples.  When  Peter 
said,  "  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here  :  if  Thou  wilt,  I  will 
make  here  three  tabernacles;  one  for  Thee,  and  one  for 
Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah,"  the  voice  replied,  "  This  is  My 
beloved  Son,  in  Whom  I  am  well  pleased;  hear  ye  Him."' 
It  was  a  rebuking  voice.  It  took  them  back  to  Caesarea 
Philippi.  There  had  been  six  days  of  silence  ;  six  days  with 
no  record  of  anything  said  between  the  Lord  and  these  men. 
They  had  been  afraid  of  the  voice  that  had  told  of  the  Cross. 
They  had  now  heard  Christ  speaking  with  Moses  and  Elijah 
of  that  Cross  ;  and  the  heavenly  voice  said,  "  This  is  My  be- 
loved Son,  in  Whom  I  am  well  pleased  ;  hear  ye  Him."  We 
have  three  records  of  that  voice  breaking  the  silence  in  the 
life  of  Jesus  :  once  at  the  baptism  in  Jordan  ;  once  here  ;  and 
once  later,  when  the  Greeks  desired  to  see  Him.  Such  Divine 
attestation  always  came  when  the  Master  was  approaching  the 
Cross  in  the  interests  of  the  Kingdom.  When  anointed  as 
King  He  had  consented  to  be  numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors in  baptism,  as  the  symbol  of  His  coming  passion 
baptism;  on  the  holy  mount  when  in  the  glory  of  His  own 
perfected  humanity  He  talked  with  Moses  and  Elijah  of  the 
Cross  as  the  way  to  the  Kingdom  ;  and  later  when  the  Greeks 
came  and  said,  "  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus,"  and  Jesus  said, 
"  The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified. 
.  .  .  Father,  glorify  Thy  name,"  then  said  the  voice, 
"  I  have  both  glorified  it  and  will  glorify  it  again,"  and  the 
Lord  immediately  declared,  "  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this 
» Matt.  xvii.  4-5. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Cross     257 

world  :  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out.  And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
Myself."  ^  All  these  illustrations  reveal  the  fact  that  in  His 
thinking  and  by  His  teaching,  He  was  moving  perpetually 
towards  His  Kingdom  by  the  way  of  His  Cross. 

Pass  on  through  Matthew,  and  every  page  gleams  with 
the  same  revelation.  Was  He  talking  to  His  own  disciples 
about  the  way  of  entrance  to  His  Kingdom,  and  greatness 
therein  ?  Then  He  told  them  that  they  must  turn  back  and 
be  as  little  children.^  That  is  the  way  of  the  Cross.  And 
if  a  Vnan  question  this,  let  him  practice  the  teaching,  and  he 
will  discover  that  for  a  man  to  turn  back  to  childhood  is  in- 
deed the  way  of  the  Cross.  Did  He  talk  to  them  about  the 
way  in  which  to  end  disorder  as  within  the  Kingdom  ?  Then 
He  took  the  parable  of  the  man  who  was  forgiven  a  debt, 
and  being  forgiven,  went  out  to  exact  the  utmost  penalty 
from  his  brother ;  and  so  was  rearrested,  and  his  own  in- 
debtedness was  claimed.^  This  is  one  of  the  most  singularly 
fine  illustrations  of  what  the  Cross  is.  When  a  man  forgives 
debt  what  does  he  do  ?  He  bears  the  loss  resulting  from 
another's  wrong-doing.  It  is  his  personal  loss,  and  he  suf- 
fers it,  in  order  to  forgive.  If  God  so  forgive,  by  suffering 
loss  on  our  behalf.  He  does  it  r.i  order  that  we  also  may  for- 
give, by  suffering  loss;  and  if  we  will  not  so  forgive,  then 
He  will  rearrest  us,  and  claim  the  utmost  penalty. 

Or  if  presently  He  would  speak  to  His  disciples  in  answer 
to  their  request  for  power  as  He  was  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem, 
then  He  said,  "  Are  ye  able  to  drink  the  cup  that  I  am  about  to 
drink?"  And  they  said  unto  Him,  "We  are  able."  To 
which  He  replied  that  they  should,  and  He  admitted  them 
to  the  place  of  spiritual  authority  and  power;  but  He  indi- 
cated that  the  way  thereinto  was  the  way  of  the  Cross.* 

1  John  xii.  21,  23,  28,  31,  32.  '^  Ibtd.,  xviii.  23-35. 

•  Matt,  xviii.  3-4.  * /<5?(/.,  xx.  17-28. 


258  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

These  are  but  instances.  The  principle  runs  through  to 
the  last  conversation  with  Pilate.  When  Pilate  said,  "  Art 
Thou  a  king  then  ?  "  He  had  said,  "  My  Kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world  .  .  .  not  from  hence."  *  The  fact  that 
the  Cross  was  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom 
of  truth  is  focussed  in  that  conversation  with  Pilate. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  is  perfectly  clear.  It  declares  the 
r.ndispensability  of  the  Cross  in  His  own  mission  and  in  the 
process,  to  the  crisis  and  the  consummation.  And  why  ? 
Because  by  chat  principle  of  the  Cross — which  had  its  su- 
preme manifestation  and  activity  in  His  own  Person; — by 
that,  and  by  that  alone,  sin  is  exhausted,  negatived,  destroyed; 
and  by  that  principle,  and  that  alone,  through  the  victory 
over  sin,  righteousness  is  made  possible.  God's  Kingdom 
must  be  so  built  that  naught  that  defileth  remains  within. 

Is  not  the  testimony  of  experience  in  harmony  with  this 
revealed  teaching  of  Jesus  ?  Is  the  Kingdom  of  God  ever 
set  up  in  a  human  life  except  by  the  way  of  the  Cross  ?  By 
the  way  of  His  Cross  trusted  in,  and  by  our  identification 
with  that  Cross  in  principle,  whereby  we  die  to  the  self-life, 
which  is  of  the  essence  of  anarchy,  and  rebellion;  we  find 
our  way  back  again  into  His  Kingdom.  And  as  that  is  the 
way  in  individual  experience,  it  is  also  the  true  method  for 
the  ultimate  establishment  of  His  Kingdom.  Always  by  the 
mystery  of  an  apparent  defeat  will  God's  victories  be  won. 
Always  by  identification  with  such  death  as  He  died  will  life 
be  liberated  and  become  powerful.  The  Kingdom  of  God 
will  only  be  established  by  the  way  of  the  Cross. 

*  John  xviii.  36-37. 


V,    THE  REDEMPTIVE  PROCESSES 
THE  CHURCH 


«« And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God.  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon  Bar- Jonah  :  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but 
My  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  also  say  unto  thee,  that  thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church;  and  the  gates  of 
Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be 
bound  in  heaven  :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed 
in  heaven." — Matthew  xvi.  ib~ig. 

««  Who  then  is  greatest  in  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  ?  " — xviii.  /. 

"  And  if  thy  brother  sin  against  thee,  go,  show  him  his  fault  between 
thee  and  him  alone :  if  he  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained  thy  brother.  But 
if  he  hear  thee  not,  take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that  at  the  mouth  of 
two  witnesses  or  three  every  word  may  be  established.  And  if  he  refuse 
to  hear  them,  tell  it  unto  the  Church  :  and  if  he  refuse  to  hear  the  Church 
also,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  the  Gentile  and  the  publican.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  "What  thmgs  soever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven  :  and  what  things  soever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in 
heaven.  Again  I  say  unto  you,  that  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as 
touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  My 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  For  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together 
in  My  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." — xviii.  ij-20. 

"Therefore  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  likened  unto  a  certain  king, 
which  would  make  a  reckoning  with  his  servants." — xviii.  33. 

"  When  the  ten  heard  it,  they  were  moved  with  indignation  concerning 
the  two  brethren.  But  Jesus  called  them  unto  Him,  and  said.  Ye  know 
that  the  rulers  of  the  Gentiles  lord  it  over  them,  and  their  great  ones  exer- 
cise authority  over  them.  Not  so  shall  it  be  among  you  :  but  whosoever 
would  become  great  among  you  shall  be  your  minister ;  and  whosoever 
would  be  first  among  you  shall  be  your  servant :  even  as  the  Son  of  Man 
came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a 
ransom  for  many." — xx.  24-28. 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  If  ye  have  faith,  and  doubt  not,  ye  shall  not 
only  do  what  is  done  to  the  fig  tree,  but  even  if  ye  shall  say  unto  this 
mountain.  Be  thou  taken  up  and  cast  into  the  sea,  it  shall  be  done.  And 
all  things,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive." 
— xxi.  21,  22. 

"  Therefore  say  I  unto  you,  The  Kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  away 
from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof." 
^xxi.  43. 


"  But  be  not  ye  called  Rabbi :  for  One  is  your  Teacher,  and  all  ye  are 
brethren.  And  call  no  man  your  father  on  the  earth :  for  One  is  your 
Father,  which  is  in  heaven.  Neither  be  ye  called  masters :  for  One  is 
your  Master,  even  the  Christ.  But  he  that  is  greatest  among  you  shall  be 
your  servant.  And  whosoever  shall  exalt  himself  shall  be  humbled;  and 
whosoever  shall  humble  himself  shall  be  exalted." — xxiii.  8-12. 

*'  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine, 
until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  My  Father's  Kingdom." 
^xxvi.  zg. 


"  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them 
now.  Howbeit  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  He  shall  guide  you 
into  all  the  truth:  for  He  shall  not  speak  from  Himself;  but  what  things 
soever  He  shall  hear,  these  shall  He  speak :  and  He  shall  declare  unto  you 
the  things  that  arc  to  come." — John  xvi.  12^  ij. 


«  They  therefore,  when  they  were  come  together,  asked  Him,  saying, 
Lord,  dost  Thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?  And  He  said 
unto  them.  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  times  or  seasons,  which  the  Father 
hath  set  within  His  own  authority.  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  when 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you:  and  ye  shall  be  My  witnesses  both  in 
Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of 
the  earth." — Acts  i.  b-8. 


THE  REDEMPTIVE  PROCESSES  — 
THE  CHURCH 

In  order  of  time  Christ  mentioned  His  Church  before  His 
Cross.  In  order  of  history  the  Cross  necessarily  preceded 
the  Church. 

Having  considered  His  teaching  as  to  the  relation  of  the 
Cross  to  the  Kingdom,  we  turn  now  to  that  which  reveals 
the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  Kingdom. 

There  has  been  a  tendency  in  some  modern  teaching  to 
place  the  idea  of  the  Church  and  that  of  the  Kingdom  in 
opposition  to  each  other.  But  they  are  intimately  related, 
and  so  far  as  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  Himself  is  concerned, 
during  the  days  of  His  flesh,  His  references  to  the  Church 
were  entirely  in  the  realm  of  His  teaching  concerning  the 
Kingdom.  He  only  referred  to  the  Church  as  an  instrument 
towards  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  in  the  world. 

Paul's  teaching  concerning  the  Church  does  not  con- 
tradict that  of  our  Lord.  It  goes  very  far  beyond  it.  To 
Paul  was  committed  what  he  himself  described  as  the 
stewardship  of  the  mystery  of  the  Church,  and  through  him 
the  Spirit  revealed  eternal  aspects  of  the  Church's  vocation 
at  which  our  Lord  Himself  never  hinted.  These  were 
among  the  things  which  the  disciples  of  Christ  could  not 
bear 'during  the  time  of  His  sojourn  among  them,  and  for 
the  saying  of  which  they  had  to  wait  for  the  coming  of  the 
Spirit,  as  He  distinctly  said :  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to 
say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.       Howbeit 

263 


264  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

when  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come.  He  shall  guide  you 
into  all  the  truth.'*  * 

Our  present  theme  is  not  that  of  the  Church  in  those  larger 
aspects  revealed  in  the  course  of  the  Pauline  writings;  but  that 
of  the  Church  in  its  relationship  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and 
that  only  as  the  subject  is  dealt  with  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 

The  records  give  two  explicit  references  to  the  Church 
in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  ;  and  it  is  not  without  signifi- 
cance that  both  these  are  found  in  the  Gospel  according  to 
Matthew,  which  is  peculiarly  the  Gospel  of  the  King  and 
of  the  Kingdom.  Had  there  been  anything  in  the  nature 
of  contradiction  between  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom  and  that 
of  the  Church,  the  one  evangelist  most  likely  to  omit  ref- 
erence to  the  Church  would  have  been  the  man  whose 
passion  was  that  of  the  Kingdom,  and  whose  vision  was 
that  of  the  King.  But  this  man  alone  has  recorded,  as 
evidently  of  supreme  importance  to  his  own  thinking  and 
m  his  own  conception,  the  two  occasions  upon  which  oui 
Lord  referred  definitely  and  explicitly  to  the  Church. 

One  of  these  two  statements  is  singularly  explicit  as  to 
the  nature  and  office  of  the  Church  ;  explicit,  that  is,  in  the 
sense  of  being  a  simple  statement,  waiting  for  further  inter- 
pretation and  development,  but  absolutely  clear.  "  Upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church."  ^  There  is  nothing 
more  to  be  said  concerning  the  nature  of  the  Church,  if 
that  one  saying  of  Jesus  be  understood.  In  connection 
with  that  declaration  He  spoke  of  the  twofold  function  of 
the  Church  in  time,  and  in  this  world.  First,  "  The  gates 
of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  ^  It  is  an  army  at 
war,  conquering,  and  leading  an  exodus  out  of  all  bondage, 
even  that  of  death.  Secondly,  "  I  will  give  unto  thee  the 
keys  of  the  Kingdom."^  The  Church  is  entrusted  with 
responsibility  concerning  the  ethic  of  heaven  for  the  gov- 
» John  xvi.  12,  13.  >  Matt.  xvi.  18.  •  Ibid.^  xvi.  19 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Church    265 

ernment  of  earth.  If  these  words  of  Jesus  be  perfectly 
apprehended,  nothing  remains  to  be  said  concerning  either 
the  nature  or  function  of  the  Church  so  far  as  this  world  is 
concerned  ;  but  even  then  there  is  no  hint  of  the  ultimate 
^nd  eternal  values  which  are  revealed  by  the  Spirit  through 
the  apostolic  writings. 

The  facts  concerning  our  Lord's  teaching  on  the  subject 
are  these.  First,  that  after  the  confession  of  Peter  He 
explicitly  declared  His  purpose  to  build  His  Church  ;  and 
described  its  twofold  function  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Secondly,  that  after  that  announcement  He  repeatedly  spoke 
to  His  disciples  in  a  corporate  capacity ;  and  in  so  doing  He 
assumed  the  Church,  which  He  had  declared  it  was  His  pur- 
pose  to  build.  And  thirdly,  that  a  careful  examination  of  these 
references  will  show  how  closely  He  connected  the  Church 
with  the  Kingdom,  considering  her  ever  as  His  instrument  for 
its  revelation  to  men,  and  its  establishment  in  the  world. 

After  He  had  made  His  great  declaration  at  Caesarea 
Philippi,  He  addressed  them,  not  so  much  as  individuals, 
but  as  a  company,  a  fellowship,  an  assembly,  a  corporate 
body ;  or  to  use  His  word,  an  Ecclesia,  a  called-out  as- 
sembly of  men.  From  that  time  He  took  for  granted,  not 
that  they  were  already  the  Church  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  but  that  He  was  speaking  to  them  as  they  would  be, 
after  the  Pentecostal  effusion  whereby  they  should  be  bap- 
tized into  new  union  with  Himself,  and  so  constitute  the 
Church  which  He  had  announced  His  intention  to  build. 

That  is  seen  in  the  group  of  Scriptures  prefacing  thi; 
meditation.  In  reading  them  we  pass  from  Caesarea 
Philippi  to  the  moment  of  the  ultimate  commission,  noting 
some  occasions  on  which,  under  various  circumstances  and 
with  different  intentions,  the  Lord  spoke  to  His  disciples  in 
groups,  as  to  a  corporate  body.  There  can  be  no  selection 
of  passages  such  as  these,  which  on  careful  reading  does 


266  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

not  impress  the  mind  with  the  fact  that  while  He  spoke  to 
them  as  a  Church,  He  was  always  thinking  of  the  Kmg- 
dom,  and  was  preparing  them  for  very  definite  fulfillment 
of  a  position  in  the  world  in  the  interests  of  that  Kingdom. 

Our  consideration  will  gather  around  the  explicit  state- 
ments and  the  subsequent  references ;  dealing  with  the 
statements  only  in  one  regard,  that  of  their  relation  to  the 
Kingdom,  and  glancing  at  the  references  in  the  same  way. 

We  come  first  then  to  the  scene  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  and 
listen  once  again  to  the  words  in  this  particular  way.  Our 
Lord's  confession  concerning  His  Church  was  made  in  an- 
swer to  Peter's  confession  that  He  was  the  Messiah.  The 
whole  Messianic  hope  of  the  Hebrew  people  was  connected 
with  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  That 
they  did  not  understand  the  nature  of  that  ultimate  King- 
dom is  no  argument  as  against  this  fact.  That  they  also 
had  become  materialized  in  their  thinking,  and  were  failing 
to  understand  that  the  foundations  of  God's  Kingdom,  even 
in  material  things,  must  always  be  spiritual,  does  not  afi:ect 
the  fact.  They  were  all  looking  for  His  Kingdom  ;  and 
they  were  looking  for  the  King  Whose  business  it  should 
be  to  establish  that  Kingdom.  When  at  last,  one  of  their 
number,  after  comradeship  with  Jesus  for  two  years  and  a 
half,  looked  into  His  eyes  and  said,  "  Thou  art  the  Mes- 
siah," *  it  was  a  confession  that  at  last  there  had  appeared 
in  the  fullness  of  times,  the  King  Whose  business  it  should 
be  to  establish  the  Kingdom. 

Our  Lord  immediately  accepted  that  confession  ;  with 
the  pronouncement  of  blessing  upon  the  man  who  had  thus 
been  illuminated  by  God,  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar- 
Jonah  :  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
thee,  but  My  Father  which  is  in  heaven  " ;  and  then 
straightway  proceeded  to  utter  these  words  concerning  the 
*  Matt.  xvi.  1 6, 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Church    267 

Church :  "  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church." 
When  one  man  out  of  the  past  economy,  illuminated  from 
above,  said  "  Thou  art  the  Messiah  King  " ;  He  said.  On 
the  basis  of  that  confession,  and  upon  that  eternal  fact  on 
which  the  confession  rests,  I  will  build  My  Church.  That 
was  not  a  departure  from  the  Kingdom  ideal.  It  was  not 
an  abandonment  of  the  Kingdom  purpose.  It  was  not  a 
refusal  of  the  Kingly  crown.  It  was  an  acceptance  of  the 
Kingly  crown,  "Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-Jonah  "  ;  and 
now  that  the  crown  is  placed  upon  My  brow,  not  merely 
in  the  Divine  economy,  but  by  the  consent  of  one  illu- 
minated soul,  I  will  proceed  ;  "i  will  build  My  Church; 
and  the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  ^ 

Observe  also  in  this  connection  that  the  terms  which  He 
employed  to  describe  the  function  of  the  Church  are  directly 
related  to  Kingdom  ideas.  What  was  the  meaning  of  the 
declaration  that  the  gates  of  Hades  should  not  prevail  against 
it  ?  Our  Lord  used  two  entirely  different  figures  in  such 
close  connection  that  sometimes  we  have  forgotten  the 
difference  between  them.  First :  "  I  will  build  My 
Church."  Secondly :  "  The  gates  of  Hades  shall  not 
prevail  against  it."  The  first  idea  is  that  of  the  building 
of  a  house,  using  the  word  house  in  its  largest  sense.  The 
second  idea  is  that  of  an  army  marching  forth  to  war. 

This  second  figure  deals  with  the  function  of  the  Church, 
suggesting  the  presence  of  anarchy,  and  recognizing  the  op- 
posing forces  of  evil.  We  have  considered  in  a  previous 
study  how  perpetually  the  Lord  was  conscious  of  these 
facts  ;  how,  notwithstanding  that  the  vision  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  was  ever  before  Him  in  all  its  glory  and  beauty, 
He  was  also  conscious  of  the  opposition  of  evil,  and  that 
He  was  exercising  His  Kingdom  ministry  in  the  midst  of 
anarchy.  On  the  first  occasion  of  reference  to  His  Church 
*Matt.  xvi.  17,  18. 


268  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

He  used  a  figure  that  suggests  war  with  the  anarchy,  oppo- 
sition to  the  opposition  :  "  The  gates  of  Hades  shall  not 
prevail  against  it.'* 

Passing  from  that  figure  to  the  next,  the  terms  again  sug- 
gest and,  indeed,  actually  name  the  Kingdom  idea :  "  I  will 
give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  heaven."  * 
From  the  midst  of  the  anarchy,  appeal  was  made  for  a  true 
authority.  I  do  not  suggest  that  the  appeal  was  intelligent 
or  volitional,  but  to  Him  it  was  none  the  less  real.  False 
rulers  and  false  authority  were  influencing  the  people  to 
evil  courses,  and  ruining  them  ;  and  Jesus  ever  saw  them 
distressed  and  scattered  ;  and  heard  the  unconscious  appeal 
of  their  agony  for  a  true  authority.  Therefore  when  He 
first  spoke  of  His  Church,  He  said  to  the  representative  of  the 
Church,  I  will  give  thee  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom.  What  you 
bind  shall  be  bound.  What  you  loose  shall  be  loosed.  All 
these  terms  move  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  Kingdom  idea. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  when  at  Caesarea  Philippi  He  was 
confessed  King  intelligently  by  Peter,  Christ  did  not  aban- 
don the  thought  of  the  Kingdom.  As  He  declared  that  He 
would  build  His  Church,  it  is  clear  that  in  His  own  mind 
the  interest  of  the  Kingdom  was  supreme ;  and  that  the 
temporal  value  of  the  Church  He  would  build  would  be 
that  of  its  cooperation  with  Him,  in  His  passion  and  His 
mission,  for  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Let  us  take  with  equal  brevity  the  next  explicit  reference. 
The  preliminary  question  that  led  up  to  the  reference  was 
asked  by  His  disciples:  "Who  then  is  greatest  in  the 
Kingdom  of  heaven?"^  In  answer  to  that  enquiry  He 
proceeded  with  His  teaching,  and  ended  His  teaching  by  a 
parable,  which  commenced,  "  Therefore  is  the  Kingdom 
of  heaven  likened  unto."  ^ 

Between  this  question  and  parable,  we  find  His  second 
1  Matt,  xvi.  19.  »  Ibid.,  xviii.  i.  »  Ibid.,  xviii.  23. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Church    269 

leference  to  the  Church.  It  was  a  mere  allusion  to  what 
He  had  already  said.  The  child  was  set  in  the  midst  of 
them,  and  He  addressed  them  as  a  body  of  men  in  their 
more  corporate  capacity.  The  very  act  was  symbolic.  In 
the  midst  the  child.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  the  pictorial.  See 
Him  and  His  disciples,  and  the  child  in  the  midst.  It  was 
singularly  suggestive  of  a  corporate  relationship,  of  a  re- 
sponsibility which  rested,  not  upon  individuals,  but  upon 
the  whole  of  them.  Having  put  the  child  there.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  talk  to  them  about  the  Kingdom.  He  gave  them 
the  great  law  of  Christian  discipline,  discipline  within  the 
Church.  "  If  thy  brother  sin  against  thee,  go,  shew  him  his 
fault,  between  thee  and  him  alone,"  '  and  do  this  in  order  to 
gain  him,  not  in  order  to  damn  him  !  And  if  you  do  not  gain 
him,  take  one  or  two  others  of  the  same  circle,  always  to  gain 
him  ;  but  if  he  will  not  hear  the  two,  tell  it  to  the  Church, 

It  was  only  a  reference,  an  allusion ;  but  all  the  light  of 
the  declaration  at  Caesarea  Philippi  flashes  upon  the  word, 
and  we  have  the  vision  of  this  new  entity,  this  corporate 
body.  There  they  are,  twelve  men,  with  a  child  in  the 
midst.  And  if  he  will  not  hear  the  Church,  "let  him  be 
unto  thee  as  the  Gentile  and  the  publican."  ^  What  sort 
of  man  is  the  Gentile  and  the  publican  ?  A  man  to  be 
cursed  ?  No.  What  then  ?  The  man  for  whom  Christ 
died  !  And  so,  if  the  brother  cannot  be  won,  he  is  to  be 
treated  by  the  Church  as  a  man  for  whom  the  Church  will 
die  in  order  that  he  may  be  saved  ! 

All  this  is  the  atmosphere  of  the  Kingdom  ;  and  the 
Church  is  seen  as  embodying  the  great  facts  of  the  King- 
dom. Moral  authority  ; — "  What  things  soever  ye  shall 
bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  ;  and  what  things 
soever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." 
Spiritual  power; — "  If  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as 
1  Matt,  xviii.  15.  ^ Ibid,, -xym..  17 


270  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  My  Father  which  is  in  heaven/'  All  this  be- 
cause of  the  presence  of  the  King  :  "  Where  two  or  three 
are  gathered  together  in  My  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst 
of  them."  ^  Christ  and  the  child  in  the  midst  j  that  is  the 
Church  ;  and  for  to-day,  that  is  the  Kingdom. 

From  these  words  of  Jesus  we  travel  back  to  an  old 
prophecy.  The  prophet  Zechariah  climbed  higher  than 
most  of  his  order,  and  gazing  across  the  centuries  and 
millenniums  to  the  glorious  hour  when  the  Kingdom  of 
God  should  be  established,  he  described  what  he  saw  in  the 
words:  "The  streets  of  the  city  shall  be  full  of  boys  and 
girls  playing  in  the  streets  thereof."  ^  That  is  the  ultimate 
Kmgdom  of  God  on  earth.  And  now,  said  Jesus,  you.  My 
disciples.  My  ecclesia,  My  Church,  having  moral  power 
and  spiritual  dynamic,  you  are  that  for  to-day  ;  the  child  is 
in  the  midst,  and  I  am  in  the  midst.  I  have  not  abandoned 
My  Kingdom ;  I  have  come  to  realize  it  first  within  your 
borders ;  and  I  have  come  to  realize  it  within  your  borders 
in  order  that  it  may  be  interpreted  to  the  world. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  some  of  His  subsequent  references, 
in  which  He  spoke  to  these  men  as  to  a  corporate  body,  a 
Church,  and  yet  constantly  concerning  a  Kingdom. 

Ten  men  were  indignant  at  the  request  of  two.  Two 
had  asked  that  they  might  sit  on  His  right  hand  and  on  His 
left,  when  He  should  come  in  His  Kingdom.  I  am  not 
interested  in  their  indignation,  or  even  in  the  request,  only 
in  order  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  it  was  for  power  as 
within  His  coming  Kingdom.  But  how  did  the  Lord  an- 
swer ?  By  teaching  them  the  law  of  greatness  in  the 
Church,  by  putting  the  Church  into  contrast  with  the  king- 
doms of  men.  In  that  passage^  we  have  a  most  graphic 
picture  of  all  human  kingdoms,  even  until  this  hour,  as  t'9 
»  Matt,  xviii.  18-20.  *  Zech.  viii.  5.  »  Matt.  xx.  24-28. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Church    271 

order  of  precedence.  Your  great  ones  exercise  authority 
over  you,  and  their  great  ones  exercise  authority  over  them. 
That  is  to  say,  there  are  gradations  of  authority.  The  mass 
of  the  people  are  ruled  by  rulers ;  the  rulers  are  ruled  by 
higher  rulers  ;  and  greatness  is  calculated  by  the  grade  of 
authority.  "Not  so  shall  it  be  among  you.'*  He  that 
would  occupy  the  position  of  ultimate  greatness  among  you 
is  not  the  one  vi^ho  exercises  authority,  but  yields  to  it  ! 
The  lowest  grade, — borrowing  the  phrase  from  a  world 
that  has  largely  forgotten  God, — the  grade  that  serves,  is 
greatest  in  the  ultimate  Kingdom  of  God.  The  supreme 
eagerness  of  souls  in  the  ultimate  Kingdom  will  not  be  to 
rule  men,  but  to  serve.  Christ  said  that  this  rule  of  the 
Kingdom  is  to  be  the  rule  of  the  Church.  It  is  to  be 
realized  in  the  Church,  and  so  manifested  to  the  world. 
One  of  the  secrets  why  the  Church  of  God  has  failed,  and 
is  failing  still,  is  that  in  this  respect  she  has  never  yet  realized 
her  Master's  ideals. 

There  had  been  a  symbolic  judgment  of  a  fig-tree,  on 
His  way  to  Jerusalem  for  those  last  august  acts  by  which 
He  flung  the  Hebrew  nation  aside  as  an  instrument  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God.^  The  disciples  were  astonished,  and 
He  said,  speaking  to  them  in  their  corporate  capacity,  that 
if  they  had  faith,  much  mightier  things  than  these  should 
they  do.  He  contrasted  the  power  of  faith  with  the  failure 
of  the  people  who  had  lost  that  power  of  faith,  and  who 
therefore  were  like  the  fig-tree,  doomed  to  judgment.  He 
put  over  against  the  failure  of  the  Hebrew  people, — with 
which  He  was  then  dealing  from  the  standpoint  of  an  offi- 
ciai  authority, — this  power  of  faith,  this  power  of  prayer.* 
It  was  all  in  the  Kingdom  atmosphere,  but  He  was  talking  to 
His  disciples,  to  the  men  who  were  to  become  the  Church. 

At  last  the  King  did  finally  and  definitely,  and  with  great 

»  Matt.  xxi.  43.  9  Ibid.,  xxi.  2i,  22. 


272  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

clearness,  pronounce  the  word  of  rejection  against  the  He* 
brew  people,  "  The  Kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  away 
from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the 
fruits  thereof."^  Jn  that  word,  full  of  solemnity,  we  are 
at  the  heart  of  the  present  line  of  thought,  for  it  was  the 
declaration  of  the  transference  of  Kingdom  responsibility, 
for  the  time  being,  from  the  Hebrew  people  to  the  new 
Ecclesia,  to  the  new  Theocracy,  to  the  Church  which  He 
was  about  to  build. 

Later  still  He  gave  instructions  to  His  disciples  as  to  their 
responsibilities,  by  revealing  the  failure  of  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees.  He  first  recognized  an  official  position  which 
the  scribes  and  Pharisees  had  occupied  in  the  economy  of 
God.  "  The  scribes  and  the  Pharisees  sit  on  Moses'  seat : 
all  things  therefore  wnatsoever  they  bid  you,  these  do  and 
observe."  Then  He  spoke  directly  to  His  disciples  :  "  Be 
not  ye  called  Rabbi  .  .  .  call  no  man  your  father 
.  .  .  neither  be  ye  called  masters.'*  ^  Thus  He  revealed 
to  them  the  order  of  the  new  Kingdom,  and  the  secrets  of 
the  new  authority.  One  is  your  Teacher,  and  He  did  not 
name  the  One.  His  reference  was  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  yet 
to  come.  One  is  your  Father,  and  the  declaration  is  self- 
evident,  that  He  was  referring  to  the  Father  Whom  He 
had  come  to  reveal.  One  is  your  Master,  and  He  at  once 
claimed  that  He  Himself  occupied  that  position.  All  this 
was  teaching  intended  to  show  these  men  that  they  were 
to  exercise  moral  authority ;  not  by  claiming  the  titles 
which  the  Rabbis  had  claimed,  but  by  being  themselves 
taught  of  the  great  Teacher ;  not  by  calling  other  men  fa- 
ther, in  some  official  way,  and  yielding  themselves  to  a  false 
authority,  but  by  recognizing  their  relationship  to  the  eternal 
authority,  and  their  right  of  access  to  God  for  the  discovery 
of  His  will ;  not  by  being  themselves  looked  upon  as  masters 
»  Matt.  xxi.  43.  ^Ihtd.,  xxiiL  8- 12. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Church    273 

of  men,  but  by  being  yielded  to  the  mastery  of  Christ. 
Thus  they  were  to  learn  the  secrets  of  morality,  and  exercise 
His  authority  in  the  world. 

The  Olivet  prophecy  was  uttered  in  answer  to  the  in- 
quiry of  His  disciples,  as  to  when  certain  things  should  take 
place  that  He  had  predicted.^  It  is  a  great  prophecy,  cover- 
ing three  phases,  and  yet  is  permeated  from  first  to  last  with 
the  consciousness  of  the  Kingdom  and  of  the  Church  ;  deal- 
ing first  with  that  period  which  culminated  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem;  dealing  secondly  with  the  period  from 
then  until  the  hour  of  His  second  advent ;  dealing  finally 
with  that  august  and  wonderful  day  in  which  He  will  be 
the  Judge  of  the  nations,  testing  them  by  their  relationship 
in  that  final  movement  to  Israel,  but  through  the  long 
processes  by  their  relationship  to  the  nation  that  has  been 
responsible  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Throughout  the 
prophecy  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  the  master  thought ;  and 
the*  Church  is  seen  as  the  instrument  of  that  Kingdom  in 
the  economy  of  God. 

The  Lord  was  present  at  the  final  Hebrew  feast.  His 
paschal  teachmg^  is  that  of  the  fact  of  the  transference  of 
Passover.  The  festival  celebrated  the  hour  when  the 
Kingdom  was  formed  by  redemption  in.  the  old  economy. 
In  a  night  much  to  be  remembered,  God  broke  the  power 
of  the  oppressor,  and  led  His  people  towards  the  sea,  and 
through  the  sea,  and  said  to  them,  I  have  brought  you  to 
Myself,  a  nation.  He  created  the  Hebrew  people  a  King- 
dom by  redemption.     Passover  celebrated  it. 

Here  let  us  use  a  word  of  Paul.  "  Our  passover  also 
hath  been  sacrificed,  even  Christ."^  Let  the  light  of  that 
declaration  fall  upon  what  happened.  He  transferred  Pass- 
over from  that  old  economy,  and  from  that  ancient  people 
who  had  failed  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  the  Kingdom,_to 
*  Matt,  xxiv,,  XXV.  » Ibid.y  xxvi.  '  I  Cor.  v.  7. 


274  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

this  new  economy,  and  to  these  new  people  who  were  to 
be  responsible  for  the  fruits  of  the  Kingdom ;  and  He  in- 
stituted a  feast  in  connection  with  the  redemption  by  which 
the  new  Kingdom  was  to  be  founded. 

In  that  connection  He  referred  to  yet  another  transfer- 
ence, and  another  day,  which  has  not  yet  come,  as  He  said, 
"I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until 
that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  m  My  Father's 
Kingdom."  *  That  was  a  glance  far  ahead,  to  ultimate 
things,  to  that  hour  to  which  the  apostle  referred  when  he 
said,  "  Then  cometh  the  end,  when  He  (the  Son)  shall  de- 
liver up  the  Kingdom  to  God."^  The  burden  of  all  is 
that  of  the  Kingdom,  the  Kingdom  of  God,  its  establish- 
ment, its  realization,  its  victory. 

At  last  we  come  to  Galilee,  to  the  mountain  where  He 
appointed  to  meet  them,  to  the  only  appearance  after  resur- 
rection which  Matthew  records,  to  the  one  appearance 
which  is  in  harmony  with  all  the  process  of  his  Gospel. 
Now  He  said  :  "  All  authority  hath  been  given  unto  Me  in 
heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  disciple  the 
nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you  :  and  lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  consummation  of  the 
age."  ^  That  is  the  voice  of  the  King,  it  is  the  commission 
of  the  Kingdom  ;  it  is  the  declaration  that  His  Church  is  to 
go  to  the  nations  and  deal  with  them  as  nations,  by  dealing 
with  the  individuals  that  make  up  the  national  life;  always 
remembering  the  value  of  the  individual  to  the  national 
life ;  and  forevermore  having  at  heart  a  passion  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  the  bringing  of 
all  the  nations  within  that  Kingdom.  The  Kingdom  re- 
sponsibility for  proclamation  and  instruction  was  thus  given 
^  Matt.  xxvi.  29.  *  I  Cor.  xv.  24.  '  Matt,  xxviii.  18-20. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Church    275 

to  the  Church  in  that  final  Kingdom  commission  of  our 
Lord. 

From  this  rapid  survey  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  certain 
things  are  clearly  evident. 

First,  that  the  Church  has,  for  the  time  being,  superseded 
the  Hebrew  people  in  the  economy  of  God  in  the  matter 
of  responsibility  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  Jesus 
said  to  the  rulers,  "  The  Kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken 
away  from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  bringing 
forth  the  fruits  thereof."  ^  After  resurrection  His  disciples 
said  to  Him,  "  Dost  Thou  at  this  time  restore  the  Kingdom 
to  Israel  ?  '*  *  The  bearing  of  that  question  is  only  dis- 
covered as  we  remember  His  denunciation  of  the  Hebrew 
people.  He  had  cast  them  out.  That  is  why  His  disciples 
asked  Him  after  resurrection  :  Has  the  time  come  to  re- 
store the  Kingdom  to  Israel  ?  He  did  not  say  that  such 
a  time  will  never  come,  but,  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know 
times  or  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  set  within  His  own 
authority.  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  when  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  come  upon  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  My  witnesses 
both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea  and  Samaria,  and  unto 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth.''  ^ 

Finally  we  learn  that  the  Church  will  fulfill  her  re- 
sponsibility for  the  manifestation  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
by  the  crowning  of  the  King;  by  yielding  herself  to  His 
rule;  by  realizing  within  her  own  borders  His  ideals;  by 
manifesting  these  things  to  the  world  without ;  by  waging 
unceasing  war  against  all  the  forces  in  opposition ;  by  proc- 
lamation of  His  great  evangel,  whereby  men  individually 
may  be  brought  into  His  Kingdom ;  by  testimony  to  His 
moral  standards;  and  by  persistent,  perpetual  prayer  in  the 
secret  Place. 

»  Matt.  xxi.  43.  *  Acts  i.  6.  •  Ibid.,  i.  7,  8. 


/I.    THE  REDEMPTIVE  PROCESSES-^ 
THE  CONFLICT 


"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for  righteousness*  sake : 
for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  re- 
proach you,  and  persecute  you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you 
falsely,  for  My  sake.  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  giad  :  for  great  is  your 
reward  in  heaven :  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which  were  before 
you." — Matthew  v.  10-12. 

"  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves :  be  ye  there- 
fore wise  as  serpents,  and  as  harmless  as  doves.  But  beware  of  men  :  for 
they  will  deliver  you  up  to  councils,  and  in  their  synagogues  they  will 
scourge  you  ;  yea  and  before  governors  and  kings  shall  ye  be  brought  for 
My  sake,  for  a  testimony  to  them  and  to  the  Gentiles.  But  when  they 
deliver  you  up,  be  not  anxious  how  or  what  ye  shall  speak :  for  it  shall  be 
given  you  in  that  hour  what  ye  shall  speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak, 
but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that  speaketh  in  you.  And  brother  shall 
deliver  up  brother  to  death,  and  the  fatlier  his  child :  and  children  shall 
rise  up  against  parents,  and  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death.  And  ye  shall 
be  hated  of  all  men  for  My  name's  sake ;  but  he  that  endureth  to  the  end, 
the  same  shall  be  saved." — x.  16-22. 

"  Think  not  that  I  came  to  send  peace  on  the  earth  :  I  came  not  to  send 
peace,  but  a  sword  !  For  I  came  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  fa- 
ther, and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against 
her  mother-in-law :  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household. 
He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me ;  and 
he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me.  And 
he  that  doth  not  take  his  cross  and  follow  after  Me,  is  not  worthy  of  Me. 
He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  My 
sake  shall  find  it."— j:.  34-3g. 

««  Another  parable  set  He  before  them,  saying.  The  Kingdom  of  heaven 
is  likened  unto  a  man  that  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field:  but  while  men 
slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares  also  among  the  wheat,  and  went 
away.  But  when  the  blade  sprang  up,  and  brought  forth  fruit,  then  ap- 
peared the  tares  also.  And  the  servants  of  the  householder  came  and  said 
unto  him.  Sir,  didst  thou  not  sow  good  seed  in  thy  field  ?  whence  then 
hath  it  tares?  And  he  said  unto  them.  An  enemy  hath  done  this.  And 
the  servants  say  unto  him,  Wilt  thou  then  that  we  go  and  gather  them  up  ? 
But  he  saith.  Nay ;  lest  haply  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root  up  the 
wheat  with  them.  Let  both  grow  together  until  the  harvest :  and  in  the 
time  of  the  harvest  I  will  say  to  the  reapers.  Gather  up  first  the  tares,  and 
bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them  :  but  gather  the  wheat  into  my  bam." 
— xiii.  24-30. 


"  And  He  answered  and  said,  He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son 
of  Man ;  and  the  field  is  the  world ;  and  the  good  seed,  these  are  the  sons 
of  the  Kingdom;  and  the  tares  are  the  sons  of  the  evil  one  ;  and  the  enemy 
that  sowed  them  is  the  devil :  and  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world ; 
and  the  reapers  are  angels." — xiii.  37-3g. 

*«  And  I  also  say  unto  thee,  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  My  Church;  and  the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it." — 
xvi.  j8. 

**  Then  said  Jesus  unto  His  disciples,  If  any  man  would  come  after  Me, 
let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  Me." — xvi.  24.- 

"  Therefore,  behold,  I  send  unto  you  prophets,  and  wise  men,  and 
scribes,  some  of  them  shall  ye  kill  and  crucify ;  and  some  of  them  shall  ye 
scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  persecute  from  city  to  city :  that  upon 
you  may  come  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  on  the  earth,  from  the  blood 
of  Abel  the  righteous  to  the  blood  of  Zachariah,  son  of  Barachiah,  whom 
ye  slew  between  the  sanctuary  and  the  altar." — xxiii.  34,  jj. 


**  If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  its  own :  but  because 
ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  chose  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the 
world  hateth  you.  Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you,  A  servant 
is  not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  they  persecuted  Me,  they  will  also  perse- 
cute you ;  if  they  kept  My  word,  they  will  keep  yours  also.  But  all  these 
things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  My  name's  sake,  because  they  know  not 
Him  that  sent  Me." — ^oAn  xv.  ig-21. 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  Me  ye  may  have  peace. 
In  the  world  ye  have  tribulation ;  but  be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have  overcome 
the  world." — xvi.  jj. 


VI 

THE  REDEMPTIVE  PROCESSES^ 
THE  CONFLICT 

The  proclamation  and  propagation  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  in  the  midst  of  abounding  anarchy  must  necessarily 
produce  conflict.  That  needs  no  argument.  It  has  been 
demonstrated  in  human  history  first  by  the  experience  of 
the  Hebrew  people ;  and  now  for  two  millenniums  by  the 
experience  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  but  centrally  by  the 
life  of  Christ,  and  by  the  fact  of  His  Cross.  Because  the 
Church  of  God  is  to-day  the  instrument  of  that  proclama- 
tion and  propaganda,  she  must  still  share  in  that  conflict. 

Our  present  theme  is  that  of  our  Lord*s  teaching  con- 
cerning that  conflict,  or  rather  concerning  her  part  therein 
during  the  present  age.  There  are  other  aspects  of  the 
conflict  between  anarchy  and  authority,  between  the  forces 
of  evil  and  those  of  righteousness,  with  which  we  are  not 
now  dealing ;  other  aspects  of  the  conflict  in  the  future, 
with  which  we  are  not  now  concerned.  We  are  now  con- 
sidering the  conflict  of  the  Church  in  the  interest  of  the 
Kingdom,  as  revealed  in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord.  We 
shall  consider  first  the  fact  of  the  conflict;  and  secondly 
the  nature  of  the  conflict. 

From  the  opening  of  His  more  formal  propaganda  m 
Galilee,  which  was  followed  almost  immediately  by  the 
enunciation  of  His  ethic  in  the  presence  of  His  own  dis- 
ciples on  the  mount,  throughout  the  whole  of  His  ministry 
and  in  all  His  teaching,  it  is  quite  evident  that  our  Lord  rec- 
ognized this  fact  of  conflict.  It  was  clearly  Indicated  in 
the  closing  beatitude  of  the  great  Manifesto  when  He  spoke 

281 


282  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

of  the  blessedness  that  rests  on  such  as  are  persecuted  foi 
His  sake.  It  was  plainly  foretold  in  the  first  commission 
given  to  the  twelve,  which  was  largely  local  and  limited, 
and  which  was  ultimately  superseded  by  the  larger  commis- 
sion beyond  resurrection.  He  explained  the  fact  in  His 
special  parabolic  teaching  concerning  the  Kingdom.  He 
recognized  it  when  at  Caesarea  Philippi  He  spoke  for  the 
first  time  of  His  Church,  and  of  His  Cross.  He  announced 
the  fact  of  the  continuity  of  that  conflict  to  His  enemies  in 
the  last  solemn  words  that  He  spoke  to  them.  Finally,  in 
the  secret  and  sacred  sanctity  of  those  hours  in  the  upper 
room,  when  talking  to  His  own  disciples,  and  delivering  to 
them  His  final  comfort  and  charge.  He  distinctly  foretold 
che  inevitability  of  this  conflict. 

Evidently,  then,  as  our  Lord  looked  through  the  age  to  its 
consummation,  He  saw  His  people  engaged  in  ceaseless  con- 
flict with  the  forces  that  were  opposed  to  Himself,  and  arc 
opposed  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Let  us  glance  at  these 
words  of  Jesus,  in  each  case  a  little  more  particularly. 

The  words  selected  from  the  Manifesto  constituted  the 
final  double  beatitude.  Let  us  remind  ourselves  once  more 
that  they  were  spoken  to  His  disciples,  who  for  the  moment 
were  realizing  the  Kingdom  by  submission  to  the  King. 
When  in  Galilee  the  multitudes  gathered  about  Him,  our 
Lord  left  the  crowds  in  order  to  reach  them  more  perfectly ; 
He  then  gathered  about  Him  His  disciples  ;  and  to  His  own 
subjects  He  uttered  the  great  Manifesto.  It  is  perfectly 
true  that  the  crowds  followed  and  listened  ;  but  it  is  equally 
true,  and  never  to  be  forgotten,  that  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  was  spoken  to  His  own  disciples,  and  was  intended 
for  them,  and  for  them  alone,  in  the  first  place.  He  was 
speaking  therefore  to  these  men  in  whom  the  Kingdom  ideal 
was  realized,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  at  the  moment,  by  the 
fact  that  they  had  crowned  God's  appointed  and  anointed 


The  Redemptive  Processes — •The  Conflict    283 

King.  In  speaking  to  these  men  in  whom  the  Kingdom 
ideal  was  realized  in  a  measure,  He  was  speaking  to  the 
Church  that  was  to  be.  Our  previous  meditation  en- 
deavoured to  show  how  Kingdom  responsibility  is  now  vested 
within  the  Christian  Church.  In  speaking  to  them,  with  a 
backward  look,  recognizing  all  that  had  been  wrought  in 
the  ancient  Hebrew  economy  by  faithful  souls,  He  said  : 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness* sake  :  for  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  heaven."  ^  Then 
looking  at  the  men  who  were  close  to  Him,  and  referring  to 
the  new  Kingdom  movement  which  would  issue  from  His 
own  ministry  and  work.  He  said  :  "  Blessed  are  ye  when 
men  shall  reproach  you,  and  persecute  you,  and  say  all  man- 
ner of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  My  sake.  Rejoice,  and 
be  exceeding  glad ;  for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven  ;  for 
so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you.'** 
In  these  words  our  Lord  recognized  the  fact  of  perpetual 
opposition  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  the  consequent  suf- 
fering of  those  who,  loyal  thereto,  proclaim  it  to  men.  The 
prophets  of  the  old,  and  the  messengers  of  the  new  econo- 
mies, alike  experience  suffering  resulting  from  the  opposi- 
tion of  evil  to  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

When  sending  out  His  twelve  disciples  to  the  fulfillment 
of  their  first  apostolic  mission.  He  sent  them  to  preach  the 
Kingdom.  He  spoke  to  them  of  the  immediate  difficulties, 
and  told  them  that  they  would  suffer  for  His  sake;  declared 
to  them  that  presently  the  difficulties  would  become  even 
greater ;  that  they  would  be  sent  out  as  sheep  in  the  midst 
of  wolves,  describing  with  remarkable  and  detailed  accuracy 
the  actual  experiences  through  which  they  passed  between 
our  Lord's  ascension  and  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
Then  looking  on  through  the  following  centuries.  He  said, 
"  Think  not  that  I  came  to  send  peace  on  the  earth  :  I 
»  Matt.  V.  10.  «  Matt.  v.  ii.  I2. 


? 


284  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword  !  "  ^  So  He  recognized 
and  emphasized,  in  the  hearing  of  the  men  whom  He  was 
first  sending  forth  with  the  great  message  of  the  Kingdom, 
the  fact  that  the  proclamation  of  the  Kingdom  must  issue  in 
strife,  in  conflict,  and  in  suffering. 

The  parabolic  teaching  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew is  full  of  the  recognition  of  the  fact.  The  element  of 
conflict  runs  through  all  the  parables,  revealing  not  final 
things  concerning  the  Kingdom,  but  processes  leading 
towards  the  final  things.  As  we  read  the  parables  we  dis- 
cover all  through  two  forces  opposed  to  each  other.  In 
one  of  the  parables  this  particular  teaching  is  made  clear; 
the  work  of  the  enemy  is  that  of  the  planting  of  darnel  in 
the  field  of  God  ;  the  planting  of  that  which  is  an  almost 
exact  imitation  of  wheat  in  its  earliest  stages,  but  which,  in 
later  development,  proves  to  be  its  opposite. 

In  the  words  spoken  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  declaring  that 
He  would  build  His  Church,  we  find  that  His  first  word 
concerning  the  function  of  the  Church  recognized  the  con- 
flict that  is  to  come.  "  The  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it.*'  ^  In  that  sentence  the  Church's  warfare 
was  revealed  in  a  flash  ;  and  the  condition  of  fellowship 
with  Him  in  that  warfare  was  laid  down  in  His  subsequent 
words  :  "  If  any  man  would  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  Me.*'^ 

When  speaking  to  His  enemies,  after  the  final  woes  had 
passed  His  lips.  He  said,  "  I  send  unto  you  prophets,  and 
wise  men,  and  scribes  "  ;  *  not,  I  have  sent  them  to  you,  but 
I  will  send  them  to  you,  a  declaration  of  His  determination 
to  persist  in  the  proclamation  of  the  Kingdom  for  their  sake 
through  a  new  ministry.  I  will  send  to  you  prophets, 
speakers  for  God,  wise  men  who  shall  be  winners  of  souls, 

*  Matt.  X.  34.  *  /did.,  xvi.  24. 

«  /did.,  xvi.  li  *  /did.,  xxiii.  34. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Conflict    285 

scribes  who  shall  be  interpreters  of  the  law ;  but  you  will 
scourge  them,  crucify  them,  fling  them  out.  Thus  here 
again  He  declared  the  fact  of  the  persistence,  both  of  the 
King  and  His  enemies  through  the  coming  days  j  the  fact, 
therefore,  of  the  continuity  of  the  conflict. 

Finally  in  those  last  discourses  in  the  upper  room.  He  told 
His  disciples  that  the  conflict  would  be  inevitable  ;  but 
ended  everything  with  the  word  of  colirage,  "  Be  of  good 
cheer ;  I  have  overcome  the  world."  ^ 

This  rapid  survey  of  some  of  the  outstanding  words  of 
Jesus  concerning  this  conflict  cannot  fail  to  make  some  very 
definite  impressions  on  the  mind. 

The  first  is  that  of  the  unusualness  of  this  conflict. 
This  is  marked  in  the  fact  that  everything  was  entirely  un- 
like warfare  as  we  have  known  it  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  The  methods  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Kingdom  are 
not  those  of  earthly  strife.  They  seem  to  do  nothing. 
They  seem  to  offer  no  resistance.  In  no  teaching  of  our 
Lord  concerning  these  men  is  there  any  description  of  a 
campaign  on  their  part  which  appears  to  be  likely  to  match 
the  campaign  of  those  who  are  opposed  to  them.  Indeed, 
we  are  impressed  by  the  perpetual  and  persistent  defeat  of 
the  King's  army.  They  are  always  persecuted.  They  are 
always  suffering.  They  are  constantly  crucified.  They 
are  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  and  in  that  one  master 
figure  of  speech  the  whole  position  is  revealed.  That  is  not 
warfare  as  men  understand  it,  and  yet  that  is  the  character- 
istic of  the  conflict  as  described  in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord. 

Over  against  that  we  must  place  another  fact  which  is 
equally  impressive,  the  abounding  confidence  and  persistent 
hopefulness  of  His  outlook.  Never  a  tremor  of  doubt; 
no  suggestion  of  ultimate  failure  ;  the  perpetual  declaration 
of  continuity  of  suffering  and  defeat ;  and  yet  this,  buoy- 
1  John  xvi.  33. 


286  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

antly,  hopefully,  confidently  anticipated  !  This  optimism 
is  not  the  optimism  of  One  Who  is  hoping  against  hope, 
or  Who  is  blind  to  the  facts  of  the  case.  As  we  study  the 
teaching  of  the  Lord,  we  discover  that,  according  to  His 
conception  of  the  conflict,  the  soldiers  of  the  Kingdom  who 
QfFer  no  resistance  are  by  that  fact  offering  resistance. 
The  soldiers  of  the  Kingdom,  who  are  constantly  being 
scourged  and  crucified  and  driven  out,  are  by  that  fact  walk- 
ing triumphantly  after  their  overcoming  Lord,  Who  Him- 
self did  overcome  by  this  process  of  defeat.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  in  these  very  methods  that  astonish  us  are  the  secret 
sources  of  strength,  and  they  constitute  the  sure  way  to  the 
ultimate  victory.  By  defeat  they  are  to  win  j  by  dying 
they  are  to  live ;  by  crucifixion  they  are  to  come  to  crown- 
ing ;  by  non-resistance  they  are  to  resist ;  by  taking  no 
sword  of  the  flesh  in  their  hand  they  are  to  master  all  such 
as  use  the  sword  of  the  flesh. 
'^  Now  with  these  general  impressions  upon  the  mind,  let 
us  examine  a  little  more  closely  the  nature  of  this  strange 
conflict  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord; 
no  longer  referring  to  particular  passages,  but  endeavour- 
ing so  far  as  we  are  able  to  deduce  from  the  whole  teaching 
a  statement  as  to  the  nature  of  this  conflict 

We  may  summarize  the  whole  story  in  the  simplest  way 
by  declaring  that  in  this  conflict  the  weapons  of  the  forces 
against  the  King  are  carnal ;  while  the  weapons  of  the 
forces  that  fight  for  the  King  are  spiritual.  The  root  prin- 
ciple of  anarchy  is  that  of  godlessness.  That  is  a  word  so 
common  in  our  speech,  and  so  easily  uttered  that  one  al- 
most trembles  lest  its  profound  significance  and  its  many- 
sided  application  may  be  lost  sight  of.  All  the  forces  that 
are  against  the  King  are  against  the  King  because  they  are 
godless,  they  put  God  out  of  account.  Godlessness  m  His 
own  day,  as  in  our  day,  is  not  necessarily  tha.t  of  soeech* 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Conflict    287 

but  godlessness  in  the  actuality  of  the  deepest  inner  life. 
It  may  be  that  the  name  of  God  is  reverently  spoken,  while 
yet  those  naming  it  have  no  dealings  with  God,  save  that 
of  antagonism  to  His  claims.  All  the  forces  revealed  to  us  in 
the  New  Testament,  in  the  actuality  of  our  Lord's  conflict,  or 
in  the  revelation  of  His  teaching,  are  forces  resulting  from, 
and  acting  in  response  to  the  inspiration  of  godlessness. 

Let  us  go  farther,  and  enquire,  what  is  the  consciousness 
of  those  who  are  acting  in  answer  to  the  impulse  of  their 
actual  godlessness  ?  The  consciousness  is  ever  that  of 
love  of  self,  of  self-consideration ;  and  consequent  hatred 
of  all  that  opposes  self-interest.  There  are  many  manifes- 
tations revealed  in  the  New  Testament,  and  many  more 
in  the  course  of  the  ages  ;  but  underneath  every  one  is  the 
love  of  self,  consideration  of  self,  self-interest.  What  shall 
we  eat ;  what  shall  we  drink ;  wherewithal  shall  we  be 
clothed  ?  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die. 
These  are  words  of  the  simplest,  perpetually  quoted,  yet 
they  are  flaming  in  revelation  ;  the  emphasis  is  always  upon 
the  self-life,  the  self-interest,  the  self-pleasure.  Forgetful- 
ness  of  God,  consideration  of  self;  dethronement  of  God, 
enthronement  of  self;  and  wherever  this  is  the  master  pas- 
sion of  the  life,  then  hatred  of  all  that  opposes  follows ; 
hatred  of  God,  hatred  of  the  prophets  who  speak  in  His 
name,  hatred  of  the  letter  which  reveals  His  law;  hatred  of 
all  which,  coming  from  Him,  would  set  restraint  upon  hu- 
man life  in  order  to  realize  it  in  all  its  beauty  and  in  all  its 
fullness  within  His  great  and  gracious  Kingdom. 

Such  forces,  inspired  by  godlessness,  conscious  of  the  de- 
sire for  self-pleasing,  and  of  hatred  of  all  that  hinders,  fling 
themselves  against  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  against  the 
messengers  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  ;  and  they  do  so  by 
employing  the  weapons  of  the  self-life, — lying,  murder, 
and  hypocrisy.     Of  course  that  is  to  strip  a  great  man»' 


288  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

things  of  false  nomenclature,  and  to  name  them  according 
to  what  they  really  are  j  for  in  a  day  like  this  we  look  back 
to  the  early  days  of  persecution,  and  then  we  look  around 
and  say,  all  the  forces  of  opposition  have  retired.  No,  they 
have  but  changed  their  method  of  attack,  they  have  accom- 
modated their  opposition  to  the  more  subtle  forms  which 
have  been  made  necessary  in  the  age  in  which  we  live. 
Lying  to-day  is  more  refined  in  its  methods,  but  it  is  none 
the  less  prevalent.  Murder  in  the  olden  days,  in  the  early 
experiences  of  the  Church,  was  the  actual  killing  of  the 
saints ;  but  now  men  indulge  in  those  subtler  forms  of 
murder,  revealed  in  the  ethic  of  Jesus,  in  which  He  de- 
clared that  hatred  in  the  heart  towards  another  man  is 
equivalent  in  the  economy  of  God  to  the  murder  of  the 
man.  Hypocrisy  persists  though  it  has  changed  its  masks. 
All  the  weapons  of  evil  in  this  warfare  are  carnal;  lying, 
murder,  and  hypocrisy  mass  themselves,  organize  them- 
selves, against  the  Kingdom  of  God,  to  prevent  its  coming, 
to  refuse  its  claims. 

Turning  to  observe  the  attitudes,  the  consciousness,  and 
the  weapons  of  the  soldier  of  the  King  as  they  are  revealed 
in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord,  one  word  will  suffice  to  define 
that  out  of  which  everything  else  springs  ;  the  root-principle 
is  godliness,  the  return  to  God,  the  recognition  of  God,  the 
remembrance  of  the  fact  of  His  rule,  the  submission  to  that 
rule,  the  yielding  of  all  to  Him.  Out  of  that  everything 
springs.  There  can  be  no  fight  on  behalf  of  God  on  the 
part  of  men  who  are  godless.  No  man  has  any  power  to 
bring  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  who  excludes  the  Kingship 
of  God  from  his  own  life.  It  is  quite  possible  for  men  to 
pray  in  multitudes,  "  Thy  Kingdom  come,"  but  the  prayer 
rises  no  higher  than  where  the  sound  expires,  unless  the 
Kingdom  has  come  in  the  life  of  the  men  who  pray.  A 
recognition  of  that  fact  affords  an  explanation  of  the  per 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Conflict    289 

petual  terms  of  sifting  and  searching  severity  of  which  our 
Lord  made  use,  in  the  days  of  His  personal  propaganda. 
How  the  multitudes  flocked  after  Him,  and  how  He  held 
them  back !  How  easily  they  would  have  crowned  Him 
upon  the  basis  of  the  fact  that  He  was  able  to  provide  them 
with  bread ;  and  with  what  solemn  resolutions  of  purpose 
He  declined  to  be  so  crowned  !  He  declared  that  if  men 
would  come  after  Him,  to  His  Kingdom,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  they  must  begin  by  such  sub- 
mission to  Himself  as  should  indicate  their  return  to  God, 
not  theoretically  but  practically.  Godliness,  as  opposed  to 
godlessness  ;  that  is  the  nakedness  of  the  fight  from  begin- 
ning to  end. 

And  further,  when  we  look  at  these  soldiers  of  the  King, 
and  when  we  listen  to  the  King,  we  discover  that  their 
consciousness  is  in  direct  opposition  to  that  of  the  forces 
against  the  King.  On  the  one  hand  love  of  self  and  hatred 
of  all  opposing.  On  the  other,  love  of  God,  and  infinite 
compassion  for  men. 

This  at  once  shows  how  impossible  it  is  for  the  soldiers 
of  the  King  to  fight  with  the  weapons  which  are  employed 
by  their  enemies.  Consciousness  of  self  and  hatred  of  all 
that  opposes  will  use  carnal  weapons ;  but  love  of  God, 
and  compassion  for  the  men  that  oppose  Him,  will  decline 
to  use  such  weapons.  The  weapons  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
King  are  truth,  salvation,  and  sincerity.  Truth  opposes 
itself  to  all  lying  ;  a  consuming  passion  to  save  enters  into 
conflict  with  hatred  ;  and  sincerity  challenges  hypocrisy. 

Now  let  us  observe  the  forces  as  they  come  together  in 
the  actuality  of  conflict.  As  to  the  root  principles,  god- 
lessness confronts  godliness  ;  it  is  armed  with  sword,  and 
fire,  and  rack,  subtle  and  devilish  means  of  causing  pains 
to  others  ;  but  godliness  is  armed  with  truth  and  love  and 
sincerity,  the  instruments  of  saving  others.     Mark  them  in 


igo  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

conflict.  Which  will  be  victorious  ?  Let  me  quote  in  this 
connection  a  great  word  of  the  apostle  Paul  in  writing  to 
Timothy.  Apart  from  its  profoundest  values,  it  throws 
light  on  this  matter  also.  "  Great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness; He  was  manifested  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit, 
seen  of  angels,  preached  among  the  nations,  believed  on  in 
the  world,  received  up  in  glory."  '  That  is  the  story  of  the 
triumph  of  godliness.  How  did  godliness  reach  that  tri- 
umph ?  By  defeat;  by  being  bruised  and  wounded  and 
murdered  ;  by  the  appalling  mystery  of  the  fact  that  when 
He  was  reviled  He  reviled  not  again  ;  that  He  was  led  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter,  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb, 
so  He  opened  not  His  mouth.  By  that  non-resistance  in 
the  power  of  the  carnal.  He  resisted  in  the  power  of  the 
spiritual ;  and  came  to  a  twofold  triumph,  past  and  ultimate. 

Or  look  at  the  actuality  of  the  conflict  as  between  the 
consciousness  of  the  forces  that  oppose,  and  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  soldiers  of  the  King.  On  the  one  side,  self- 
consideration,  which  hates  all  that  opposes ;  on  the  other, 
that  self-emptying  which  loves  even  such  as  oppose.  Which 
IS  to  win  ?  In  the  heart  of  the  classic  passage  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Paul  on  love,  there  flames  and  flashes  one  statement 
with  exquisite  and  never-fading  beauty  ;  the  ultimate  word 
of  all  the  argument  is  this,  "  Love  never  faileth.'*  Yet  how 
it  seems  to  fail,  but  it  never  fails  !  Love  is  bruised,  and  wins 
by  its  bruising.  Love  is  left  upon  the  highway,  destitute,  tor- 
mented, afflicted,  and  by  that  willingness  to  be  left,  triumphs 
over  every  force  opposed  to  it,  "  Love  never  faileth."  ^ 

Next  consider  the  opposition  as  between  the  weapons 
that  are  carnal  and  those  that  are  spiritual.  In  his  second 
letter  to  the  Corinthian  Christians  Paul  said,  "  We  do  not 
war  according  to  the  flesh  (for  the  weapons  of  our  warfare 
are  not  of  the  flesh,  but  mighty  before  God  to  the  casting 
» I  Tim.  iii.  i6.  •  i  Cor.  xiii.  8. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Conflict    291 

down  of  strongholds) ;  casting  down  imaginations,  and 
every  high  thing  that  is  exalted  against  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  bringing  every  thought  into  captivity  to  the 
obedience  of  Christ."  ^  These  are  the  victorious  weapons, 
those  that  deal,  not  with  external  manifestations,  but  with 
the  inspirational  centres  of  human  life  ;  casting  down  im- 
aginations, dealing  with  the  underlying  reasons  of  things, 
and  capturing  these  and  turning  them  to  good.  Thus  the 
ultimate  victory  of  the  Kingdom  is  to  be  won. 

The  conflict  is  persistent,  and  the  way  is  still  the  same. 
The  Church  of  God  has  always  failed  when  she  has  turned 
to  other  weapons,  and  to  carnal  methods.  Christ's  first 
words  to  His  disciples,  after  He  had  spoken  of  the  Church, 
were  terrible  and  stern  words,  but  necessary,  "  Get  thee 
behind  Me,  Satan  ;  thou  art  a  stumbling-block  unto  Me  : 
for  thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God,  but  the  things  of 
men."  ^  Our  Lord  had  spoken  of  His  Church  ;  of  build- 
ing it ;  of  its  victory  over  all  forces  including  death  itself; 
of  His  disciples  as  holding  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  ;  and 
all  the  words  were  the  words  of  a  propaganda  moving 
towards  victory.  Then  He  had  told  them  that  the  way  to 
the  crown  was  the  way  of  the  Cross.  And  Peter,  spokes- 
man of  the  Church  through  all  time,  save  as  she  is  indeed 
taught  of  the  Spirit,  said,  "  Be  it  far  from  Thee,  Lord  :  this 
shall  never  be  unto  Thee."  ^  In  those  words  he  protested 
against  the  idea  that  in  order  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Kingdom  there  must  be  no  carnal  fighting;  that  all  the 
fighting  must  be  the  cessation  of  fighting  ;  that  the  dynamic 
of  resistance  is  the  end  of  resistance.  That  be  far  from 
Thee,  said  Peter.  No  Church  will  be  built  that  way.  The 
gates  of  Hades  will  never  yield  to  such  methods.  The  keys 
of  the  Kingdom  cannot  long  be  held  by  such  ideas.  And 
Jesus  said,  "  Get  Thee  behind  Me,  Satan,"  thou  art  measur- 
*  2  Cor.  X.  3-5.  •  Matt.  xvi.  23.  ^  /^jcf.,  xvi.  22. 


^,92  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

ing  My  campaign  by  the  ways  of  men,  hoping  to  establish 
My  Kingdom  by  the  way  that  other  kingdoms  have  been 
established,  all  of  which  perish  and  fail.  "  Get  thee  behind 
Me,  Satan." 

And  at  last,  under  the  olive  shades  of  Gethsemane,  speak- 
ing to  the  selfsame  man,  our  Lord  said,  "  Put  up  again  thy 
sword  into  its  place  :  for  all  they  that  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  with  the  sword."  ^  The  history  of  the  Church  from 
that  day  until  now  demonstrates  the  truth  of  that  word  of 
Jesus.  A  little  over  three  centuries  ago,  men  in  our  own 
country  took  the  sword  and  removed  the  king ;  but  the  king 
came  back.  Men  at  the  same  time  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things,  and  struck  no  blow  in  defense;  but  they  won  the 
victory  of  spiritual  freedom  which  abides  until  this  hour. 
The  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  will  never  be  by  the 
sword.  Defeat  is  still  our  way  of  victory.  The  loss  that 
a  man  suffers  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  the  gain  of  the 
Kingdom  in  the  place  of  his  suffering,  and  the  assurance  of 
the  ultimate  triumph.  Not  by  any  carnal  weapons  are  we 
to  fight  this  warfare,  not  by  any  means  which  men  employ 
for  the  establishment  and  the  strengthening  of  earthly  king- 
doms, will  this  Kingdom  be  brought  in  and  established. 
Lowell  saw  far  indeed  when  he  sang  : 

"  Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold.  Wrong  forever  on  the  throne, — 
Yet    that    scaffold    sways   the   future,   and,  behind   the   dim 
unknown, 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow,  keeping  watch  above  His  own. 

Count  me  o'er  earth's  chosen  heroes, — they  were  souls  that  stood 
alone. 
While  the  men  they  agonized  for  hurled  the  contumelious  stone. 
Stood  serene,  and  down  the  future  saw  the  golden  beam  incline 
To  the  side  of  perfect  justice,  mastered  by  their  faith  divine. 
By  one  man's  plain  truth  to  manhood  and  to  God's  supreme 
design. 

1  Matt.  xxvi.  52. 


The  Redemptive  Processes — The  Conflict    293 

"  By  the  light  of  burning  heretics  Christ's  bleeding  feet  I  track. 
Toiling  up  new  Calvaries  ever  with  the  cross  that  turns  not 
back. 
And  these  mounts  of  anguish  number  how  each  generation  learned 
One  new  word  of  that  grand  Credo  which  in  prophet-hearts 
hath  burned 
Since  the  first  man  stood,  God-conquered  with  his  face  to  heaven 
upturned. 

*'  For  Humanity  sweeps  onward  :  where  to-day  the  martyr  stands. 
On  the  morrow  crouches  Judas  with  the  silver  in  his  hands  ; 
Far  in  front  the  cross  stands  ready  and  the  crackling  fagots  burn. 

While  the  hooting  mob  of  yesterday  in  silent  awe  return 
To  glean  up  the  scattered  ashes  into  History's  golden  urn."  * 

"  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.''  ^ 
"The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal.**^ 
"  In  the  world  ye  have  tribulation  :  but  be  of  good  cheer; 
I  have  overcome  the  world."  ^ 

1  The  Present  Crisis.  *  2  Cor.  x.  4, 

^  Matt.  X.  34.  *  John  xvi.  33. 


VII.    THE  CRISIS 


"  Who  do  men  say  that  the  Son  of  Man  is  ?  .  .  .  Tliou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." — Matthew  xvi.  /j,  i6. 

"  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father  with 
His  angels ;  and  then  shall  He  render  unto  every  man  according  to  his 
deeds." — xvi.  27. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many." — xx.  28. 

"  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  My  words  shall  not  pass 
away." — xxiv.  jj. 


"  Fear  not,  little  flock ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you 
the  Kingdom.  .  .  .  Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and  your  lamp? 
burning;  and  be  ye  yourselves  like  unto  men  looking  for  their  Lord." — 
Luke  xii.  32,  jj,  36. 

"  For  the  Son  of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." — 
xix.  10. 

"  I  appoint  unto  you  a  Kingdom,  even  as  My  Father  appointed  unto 
Me,  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  My  table  in  My  Kingdom ;  and  ye  shall 
sit  on  thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." — xxii.  2g,  30, 


VII 
THE  CRISIS 

When  dealing  with  some  of  the  phases  of  the  Kingdom 
as  indicated  in  the  references  of  Jesus,  we  noted  as  the  final 
fact  that  the  Kingdom  is  to  be  established  on  the  earth  by 
processes,  culminating  in  a  crisis.  With  the  processes  we 
have  dealt;  the  Cross  as  fundamental;  the  Church  as  in- 
strumental ;  and  the  conflict  as  experiential. 

Coming  now  to  the  crisis  to  which  our  Lord  referred,  we 
have  immediately  to  recognize  how  large  a  place  the  subject 
occupied  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  He  said  far  more  con- 
cerning His  advent  than  He  did  concerning  either  His  Cross 
or  His  Church. 

We  will,  therefore,  first  survey  the  field ;  secondly,  ex- 
amine the  first  explicit  declaration ;  and  finally,  attempt  to 
summarize  the  facts  revealed. 

In  surveying  the  teaching  of  Jesus  on  this  subject,  we  shall 
confine  ourselves  to  those  words  of  the  Lord  in  which  He 
distinctly  dealt  with  the  second  advent  in  its  bearing  on  the 
Kingdom  ;  omitting  all  references  to  that  advent  which  had 
other  reasons  and  other  applications.  In  referring  to  this  sub- 
ject He  had  two  methods,  which  we  may  describe  as  parabolic, 
and  specific ;  and  we  shall  group  His  sayings  in  that  way. 

The  parables  of  the  Kingdom  may  be  divided  into  two 
groups,  those  delivered  in  set  discourse,  recorded  in  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  Matthew ;  and  those  incidentally 
spoken  upon  other  occasions,  and  almost  exclusively  to  His 
disciples,  even  if  in  the  hearing  of  the  crowd.  In  the  thir- 
teenth chapter  of  Matthew  we  have  seven  parables  dealing 
directly  with  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,  those  of  the  sower,  the 

297 


298  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

darnel,  the  mustard-seed,  the  leaven,  the  treasure,  the  pearl, 
and  the  drag-net ;  and  a  final  one  setting  forth  the  responsi- 
bility of  those  who  have  this  teaching,  that  of  the  householder 

In  so  far  as  these  parables  deal  with  the  processes  of  the 
Kingdom,  they  reveal  a  conflict  j  the  continued  opposition 
of  two  persistent  activities,  antagonistic  to  each  other;  or 
else  they  reveal  some  selective  activity  which  finds  treasure 
in  the  earth  and  takes  it  out  therefrom,  but  still  leaves  the 
Kingdom  unestablished. 

Or,  to  put  the  matter  into  slightly  different  form,  in  these 
parables  of  the  thirteenth  chapter,  we  have  teaching  con- 
cerning the  Kingdom,  but  nothing  final ;  no  description  of 
its  ultimate  conditions,  no  description  of  the  prevailing 
glories  ;  only  a  description  of  certain  processes  through  which 
the  Kingdom  passes,  only  pictures  covering  a  certain  period 
of  time,  and  revealing  the  movement  towards  a  Kingdom. 
That  period  is  one  of  conflict,  of  antagonism,  or,  as  I  have 
already  said,  of  the  operation  of  two  opposing  activities. 

In  two  of  these  parables  a  definite  crisis  is  referred  to ; 
that  of  the  darnel,  and  that  of  the  drag-net.  In  each  of 
them  our  Lord  referred  to  "  the  consummation  of  the  age," 
not  the  end  of  all  the  ages,  but  the  consummation  of  one 
particular  age,  the  age  which  He  was  then  describing  in  His 
parables.  He  declared,  moreover,  in  each  of  these  two 
parables  that  the  consummation  of  the  age  would  be  brought 
about  by  some  definite  interposition  of  His  own.  Neither 
in  the  parable  of  the  darnel,  nor  chat  of  the  drag-net  did  He 
make  any  definite  reference  to  His  personal  advent,  but  He 
did  declare  that  He  would  take  hold  of  the  reins  of  authority, 
and  sending  His  angels  into  the  midst  of  human  affairs, 
would  separate  between  the  evil  and  the  good,  casting  out  of 
the  Kingdom  all  the  things  of  evil,  and  bringing  to  final 
fruition  and  glory  the  things  of  goodness  which  have  resulted 
from  the  operation  of  His  servants  through  the  processes. 


The  Crisis  3:99 

Thus  in  these  two  parables,  the  truth  is  clearly  revealed, 
that  the  final  victory  over  evil  is  to  be  won  by  a  definite 
crisis  under  His  own  guidance,  His  own  authority,  and  His 
own  administration. 

Glancing  next  at  those  which  were  incidentally  spoken, 
we  find  three  definitely  dealing  with  the  relation  of  His  ad- 
vent to  the  Kingdom. 

The  first  is  that  of  the  waiting  servants,  recorded  by 
Luke.  The  crisis  for  which  these  servants  were  bidden  to 
wait  was  that  of  the  return  of  their  lord  and  master.  This 
parable  is  closely  linked  to  that  gracious  word  of  Jesus, 
"  Fear  not,  little  flock  :  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure 
to  give  you  the  Kingdom."  *  Having  said  that.  He  told  His 
disciples  how  they  might  come  into  possession  of  that  which  it 
was  their  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  them.  They  were 
to  sell  what  they  had,  and  invest  their  wealth  as  members  of 
His  Kingdom  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  the  Kingdom.  He 
finally  illuminated  that  instruction  by  the  parable  beginning  : 
"  Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and  your  lamps  burning  : 
and  be  ye  yourselves  like  men  looking  for  their  lord."  * 

The  next  is  the  parable  of  the  labourers  in  the  vineyard, 
recorded  by  Matthew.^  Notice  the  crisis  of  eventide,  when 
the  master  comes,  and  the  servants  appear  before  him  to 
receive  the  rewards  of  toil. 

The  last  is  the  parable  of  the  marriage  feast,  also  recorded 
by  Matthew.*  The  particular  value  of  this  in  our  present 
study  is  that  of  the  crisis  created  when  the  King  Himself 
appears,  and  the  man  without  the  wedding  garment  is  sent 
forth  into  the  darkness  outside  the  Kingdom.  Thus  in  all 
the  parabolic  teaching  a  crisis  was  referred  to ;  and  it  is 
quite  clear  that,  in  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  the  crisis  would  be 
created  by  His  own  return. 

>  Luke  xii.  32.  '  Matt.  xx.  1-16. 

*  Il>id.t  xii.  35.  *  Ibid.,  xxii.  1-14, 


300  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

All  this,  however,  was  not  merely  referred  to  in  parabolic 
teaching ;  it  was  definitely  stated.  At  Caesarea  Philippi  He 
for  the  first  time  explicitly  declared  that  He  would  come 
again.  Each  of  the  evangelists,  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke, 
place  that  declaration  for  the  first  time  in  that  particular 
relation.  After  the  confession  of  Peter,  after  the  avowed 
purpose  of  building  the  Church,  after  the  declared  necessity 
for  the  way  of  the  Cross,  He  said,  "  The  Son  of  Man  shall 
come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father  with  His  angels  ;  and  then 
shall  He  render  unto  every  man  according  to  his  doing."  * 
Quite  clearly,  according  to  that  declaration  of  our  Lord, 
His  own  personal  advent  is  to  constitute  the  crisis  by  which 
the  Kingdom  will  be  established. 

In  the  Olivet  prophecies^  the  same  truth  was  clearly  de- 
clared. The  culmination  of  the  conflict  would  be  when  He, 
the  Son  of  Man,  should  come  ;  the  responsibility  of  stewards 
during  the  period  of  His  absence  was  always  to  be  fulfilled 
in  the  light  of  His  return  ;  and  when,  looking  through  the 
centuries,  He  foretold  the  hour  of  national  reconstruction, 
He  associated  it  with  His  own  coming,  declarmg  that  He 
would  return,  and  before  Him  the  nations  should  be  gathered 
together,  and  that  under  His  supervision  the  great  work 
should  go  forward. 

Finally,  under  the  shadow  of  the  Cross,  in  His  last  dis- 
course with  His  own  disciples.  He  said  unto  them,  "  I  ap- 
point unto  you  a  Kingdom,  even  as  My  Father  appointed 
unto  Me  "  ;  and  to  the  twelve.  His  apostles.  He  said,  "  Ye 
shall  sit  on  thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."* 

Now  this  is  to  sweep  over  the  whole  ground  of  His  teach- 
ing, not  to  interpret  it  in  detail,  but  to  lay  emphasis  upon 
the  fact  that  whether  He  was  mistaken  or  not,  if  these 
records  are  to  be  trusted.  He  confidently  affirmed,  and  per- 
sistently declared,  that  He  Himself  would  actually  and  per- 
*  Matt.  xvi.  27.       '  Ibid.,  xxiv.,  xxv.        '  Luke  xxii.  29,  30. 


The  Crisis  301 

sonally  return,  and  that  by  that  return  the  crisis  would  arrive 
in  which  the  processes  of  this  period  would  find  fulfillment, 
and  the  Kingdom  of  God  would  be  established. 

But  now,  in  order  to  a  little  more  careful  consideration, 
we  concentrate  upon  what  has  been  already  described  as  the 
first  explicit  declaration :  "  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come 
in  the  glory  of  His  Father  with  His  angels  ;  and  then  shall 
He  render  unto  every  man  according  to  his  deeds."  * 

It  requires  a  very  great  deal  of  the  wisdom  which  is  of 
this  world  to  escape  from  the  simple  meaning  of  that  declara- 
tion of  Jesus.  If,  in  order  to  hear  these  words,  we  can  get 
away  from  this  particular  age,  and  stand  among  those  dis- 
ciples at  Caesarea  Philippi,  and  listen  with  them,  hearing 
the  words  as  they  heard  them,  from  the  standpoint  of  their 
consciousness,  we  shall  be  far  nearer  to  their  meaning  than 
in  any  other  way. 

Let  us  first  observe  the  title  which  our  Lord  employed  in 
this  statement,  ''  The  Son  of  Man."  What  did  that  mean 
to  the  men  who  heard  it  ?  The  connection  of  the  ancient 
writings  is  quite  evident.  In  the  Old  Testament  it  rarely 
occurs,  and,  indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  only  found 
specifically  and  definitely  in  one  particular  prophecy,  that  of 
Daniel,  and  it  appears  there,  only  to  pass  out  of  sight  al- 
most immediately. 

"  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  there  came  with 
the  clouds  of  heaven  one  like  unto  a  son  of  man,  and  he 
came  even  to  the  ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him 
near  before  him.  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and 
glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  the  peoples,  nations,  and 
languages  should  serve  him  :  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting 
dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that 
which  shall  not  be  destroyed."  * 

Daniel  asked  for  an  explanation  of  his  vision,  and  in  the 
*  Matt.  xvi.  27.  '  Dan.  vii.  13,  14. 


302  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

course  of  that  explanation,  these  are  the  words  dealing  with 
this  particular  part  of  it  : 

"  But  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his 
dominion  *' — that  is,  the  dominion  of  the  false  prince — "  and 
the  greatness  of  the  kingdoms  under  the  whole  heaven 
shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  : 
His  Kingdom  is  an  everlasting  Kingdom,  and  all  dominions 
shall  serve  and  obey  Him."  ^ 

Now  if,  at  this  distance  of  time,  I  should  affirm  that  when 
Jesus  made  use  of  the  title  "  Son  of  Man  *'  for  Himself,  He 
did  so  intending  to  assume  the  title  as  it  appeared  in  Daniel, 
It  would  be  a  supposition  to  which  some  objection  might 
very  properly  be  taken.  But  when  we  consider  that  this 
particular  word  in  Daniel  had  produced  the  profoundest 
effect  upon  the  Jewish  theologians,  and  that  the  teachers  of 
the  time  were  constantly  employing  it  in  reference  to  Mes- 
siah ;  then  we  shall  see  that  it  was  impossible  for  any  new 
teacher  to  employ  it,  without  giving  those  who  heard  Him 
do  so  the  impression  that  He  was  using  it  in  that  sense. 

Extracts  from  two  Jewish  writers  will  show  the  effect 
that  had  been  produced  upon  them  by  the  prophecy  of 
Daniel.  The  book  of  Enoch  was  certainly  pre-Christian  ; 
— it  is  not  quite  easy  to  date  it,  but  we  cover  all  the  ground 
of  suggestion  by  declaring  it  was  written  somewhere  in  the 
century  preceding  the  coming  of  Christ,  somewhex'e  be- 
tween 94  and  4  b.  c.     In  that  book  are  these  words  : 

"  And  there  I  saw  One  who  had  a  Head  of  Days,  and 
His  head  was  white  like  wool,  and  with  Him  was  another 
being  whose  countenance  had  the  appearance  .  .  .  like  one 
of  the  holy  angels.  And  I  asked  the  angel  who  went  with 
me  and  showed  me  all  the  hidden  things,  concerning  that 
Son  of  Man,  who  he  was,  and  whence  he  was,  and  why  he 
went  with  the  Head  of  Days  ?  And  he  answered  and  said 
1  Dan.  vii.  26,  27. 


The  Crisis 


303 


unto  me,  This  is  the  Son  of  Man  who  hath  righteousness, 
with  whom  dwelleth  righteousness,  and  who  reveals  all  the 
treasures  of  that  which  is  hidden,  because  the  Lord  of 
Spirits  hath  chosen  him,  and  his  lot  before  the  Lord  of 
Spirits  hath  surpassed  everything  in  uprightness  forever. 
And  this  Son  of  Man  whom  thou  hast  seen  will  arouse  the 
kings  and  the  mighty  ones  from  their  couches,  and  the 
strong  from  their  thrones,  and  will  loosen  the  reins  of  the 
strong,  and  grmd  to  powder  the  teeth  of  the  sinners.  And 
He  will  put  down  the  kings  from  their  thrones  and  kingdoms, 
because  they  do  not  extol  and  praise  Him,  nor  thankfully  ac- 
knowledge whence  the  kingdom  was  bestowed  upon  them."  * 

Or  again,  in  the  same  book  of  Enoch  : 

"  And  he  sat  on  the  throne  of  his  glory  and  the  sum  of 
judgment  was  committed  unto  Him,  the  Son  of  Man,  and  he 
caused  the  sinners,  and  those  who  had  led  the  world  astray  to 
pass  away  and  be  destroyed  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth."  ^ 

These  quotations  illustrate  the  common  thought  of  the 
time  in  which  Jesus  exercised  His  ministry.  The  title  used 
by  Daniel  had  taken  hold  of  the  hearts  of  the  subsequent 
teachers,  and  everywhere  there  was  expectation  of  some 
apocalypse,  unveiling,  out-shining,  manifestation,  connected 
with  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  who  was  referred  to  as  the 
Son  of  Man. 

In  the  Apocrypha,  in  the  second  book  of  Esdras,  a  book 
written  undoubtedly  within  the  first  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  about  81  a.  d.,  the  same  ideas  are  found.  Esdras 
tells  of  a  dream  in  which  he  saw  coming 

"  Up  from  the  midst  of  the  sea  as  it  were  the  likeness  of 
a  man  ;  and  I  beheld,  and  lo,  that  man  flew  with  the  clouds 
of  heaven  ;  and  when  he  turned  his  countenance  to  look,  all 
things  trembled  that  were  seen  under  him.  .  .  .  After 
this,  I  beheld,  and  lo,  there  was  gathered  together  a  multitude 
1  Enoch  xlvi.  1-5.  «  Enoch  Ixix.  27. 


304  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

of  men,  out  of  number,  from  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  to 
make  war  against  the  man  that  had  come  out  of  the  sea."  * 

When  Esdras  seeks  the  interpretation  of  the  dream,  he 
is  told : 

"  Whereas  thou  sawest  a  man  coming  up  from  the  midst 
of  the  sea,  the  same  is  he  whom  the  Most  High  hath  kept 
a  great  season,  which  by  his  own  self  shall  deliver  his  crea- 
tures :  and  he  shall  order  them  that  are  left  behind.  .  .  . 
Behold,  the  days  come  when  the  Most  High  will  begin  to 
deliver  them  that  are  upon  the  earth  .  .  .  and  it  shall 
be  when  these  things  shall  come  to  pass,  and  the  signs  shall 
happen  that  I  showed  thee  before,  then  shall  my  Son  be 
revealed,  whom  thou  sawest  as  a  man  ascending. 
And  this  my  Son  shall  rebuke  the  nations  which  are  come 
for  their  wickedness.  .  .  .  And  He  shall  destroy  them 
without  labour  by  the  law,  which  is  likened  unto  fire."  ^ 

All  this  is  of  importance  m  that  it  shows  that  our  Lord 
used  the  title  Son  of  Man,  knowing  that  the  men  who 
heard  understood  it  as  referring  to  the  Messiah.  In  the 
subsequent  interpretation  of  the  Master's  meaning  we  find 
a  return  to  the  very  views  that  had  characterized  the  most 
illuminated  teachers  in  the  days  before  the  Lord  came 
Again,  Christ  used  that  title  for  Himself,  not  once  or  twice, 
but  constantly  ;  indeed,  it  was  His  favourite  title  for  Him- 
self. In  declaring  the  purpose  of  His  mission.  He  said, 
"  The  Son  of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost."  ^  When  He  described  the  method  of  His  mis- 
sion He  said,  "The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for 
many."  *  And  now  when  referring  to  the  completion  of 
His  work  He  said  :  "The  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the 
glory  of  His  Father."* 

^  2  Esdras  xiii.  2,  3,  5.  '  Luke  xix.  lO. 

^Ibid.^  xiii.  25,  26,  29,  32,  37,  38.        ■*  Matt.  xx.  28.      ^  Ibid.y  xvi.  27. 


The  Crisis  305 

Now  examining  His  use  of  the  title  on  this  special  occa- 
sion in  the  light  of  the  whole  story,  everything  began  with 
His  own  question,  "  Who  do  men  say  that  the  Son  of  Man 
is  ?  *'  '  And  when  the  answer  came  from  one  illuminated 
soul,  "Thou  art  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,'*  * 
He  accepted  the  confession,  and  proceeded  to  make  a  dec- 
laration concerning  His  Church,  His  Cross,  and  the  fact 
that  He  was  coming  again  ;  and  announced  that  by  the  way 
of  His  coming  again,  the  Kingdom  whose  foundation  must 
be  laid  in  the  mystery  of  His  Cross,  and  whose  processes 
must  be  carried  forward  by  the  conflict  of  His  Church, 
should  be  established  in  the  world. 

He  declared  that  He  Himself  would  come  again,  in  the 
glory  of  His  Father,  and  bringing  with  Him,  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  His  Kingdom  on  this  earth, 
the  angels  of  His  presence.  The  avowed  purpose  of  His 
coming  is  that  of  the  actual,  immediate,  visible  assumption 
of  authority  ;  and  consequent  discrimination  in  the  affairs 
of  the  world.  In  that  coming  again,  there  will  be  fulfilled 
the  prophecy  of  His  immediate  forerunner,  John  the  Bap- 
tist, "Whose  fan  is  in  His  hand,  and  He  will  throughly 
cleanse  His  threshing-floor ;  and  He  will  gather  His  wheat 
into  the  garner,  but  the  chafF  He  will  burn  up  with  un- 
quenchable fire."^  That  prophecy  our  Lord  referred  to  in 
His  own  parabolic  utterances,  as  He  claimed  that  at  the 
consummation  of  the  age  He  would  come  for  the  fulfillment 
of  that  ministry,  the  purging  of  the  floor,  the  gathering  of 
the  wheat  into  the  garner,  and  the  burning  of  chaff  in  un- 
quenchable fire.  These  were  great  figures  of  speech,  all 
too  narrowly  interpreted  oftentimes,  for  wheat  in  that  figure 
of  speech  is  infinitely  more  than  individual  men,  and  chaff 
may  not  refer  to  men  at  all ;  or  it  may,  as  men  have  given 
themselves  over  to  the  things  of  chaff.  It  is  a  picture  of 
1  Matt.  xvi.  13.  ^Ibid.,  xvi.  l6.  ^  Ji,id,^  iU.  12- 


3o6  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

the  Lord  Himself  coming  at  the  end  of  the  age,  and  bring- 
ing with  Him  the  angels  in  order  to  aid  Him  in  His  actual 
ministry  in  this  world  j  of  His  coming  to  destroy  all  things 
evil,  and  establish  all  things  in  themselves  good ;  the  win- 
nowing of  the  threshing  floor  of  the  world,  so  that  the 
chaff  is  separated  from  the  wheat,  and  gathered  for  burning, 
and  the  wheat  harvested  into  the  treasure-house  of  the 
King.  It  IS  a  picture  of  a  final  activity  of  judgment,  in 
which  He  will  separate,  not  between  man  and  man  alone, 
but  between  affairs  and  affairs,  things  and  things,  methods 
and  methods  ;  destroying  by  His  own  immediate  presence 
and  government  all  the  things  that  are  unworthy,  and  con- 
serving and  establishing  all  that  accords  with  the  will  of  God. 

In  this  teaching  of  Jesus  there  are  many  details  omitted, 
many  questions  that  we  should  like  to  ask  are  unanswered ; 
but  enough  is  revealed  to  give  us  courage  of  heart.  To 
summarize  what  seem  therefore  to  be  the  chief  matters  in 
this  teaching. 

First  our  Lord  taught  with  great  distinctness  that  the 
processes  towards  the  Kingdom  will  culminate  in  a  crisis; 
that  the  crisis  will  be  created  by  His  own  coming  again; 
that  it  will  be  as  distinct,  as  definite  as  was  His  first  com- 
ing, and  no  more  wonderful  and  no  more  unbelievable  ;  that 
the  activities  of  His  personal  coming  will  be  those  of  judg- 
ment. Judgment  means  far  more  than  punishment.  Judg- 
ment is  separation,  restoration,  administration,  government. 
We  talk  of  the  day  of  judgment  as  if  it  were  a  day  of  four 
and  twenty  hours.  The  day  of  grace  has  lasted  two  mil- 
lenniums. How  long  may  God's  day  of  judgment  last  ? 
It  IS  quite  certain  by  Biblical  prophecy  it  will  last  a  thou- 
sand years,  for  all  the  millennium  is  the  day  of  judgment; 
and  there  are  hints  and  gleams  in  these  prophetic  writings 
of  a  period  beyond  the  millennium.  In  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation the  story  of  the  millennium  is  dismissed   in  a  few 


The  Crisis 


307 


verses  ;  beyond  the  brief  picture  of  the  millennium  it  is  de- 
clared that  there  will  be  the  recrudescence  of  evil,  for  dur- 
ing the  millennium  it  is  but  held  in  check,  and  never  elimi- 
nated. But  beyond,  it  is  eradicated,  and  the  glorious 
Kingdom  of  the  Son  is  that  in  which  the  tabernacle  of 
God  shall  be  with  men,  and  He  shall  dwell  with  them.  All 
this  must  be  brought  to  pass  by  His  advent  and  His  judg- 
ment of  the  world  ;  that  is.  His  direct,  immediate,  positive 
government  of  it.  He  will  not  come  merely  to  reign  over 
a  people  who  have  been  subjugated  to  His  sway  by  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  missionary  effort.  He  will 
come  to  reign  over  all  peoples,  some  of  whom  will  be  antag- 
onistic to  Him  at  His  advent ;  and  therefore  there  will  be 
a  preliminary  process  necessary,  the  winnowing  of  the 
floor,  the  gathermg  out  of  things  that  offend,  the  casting  of 
them  out,  in  order  to  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom. 
But  the  issue  of  His  second  coming  will  be  the  subjugation 
of  all  things  to  Himself. 

He  teaches  moreover  that  the  responsibilities  of  His 
Church  in  this  period  are  those  of  sharing  His  Cross,  and 
maintaining  His  conflict;  and  He  carefully  warned  His 
disciples,  in  words  that  we  need  most  solemnly  to  ponder, 
that  the  judgment  is  postponed  until  He  come.  Darnel 
and  wheat  must  grow  together  until  He  separate  them. 
The  net  must  swing  to  the  tides,  and  enclose  all  manner 
of  fishes,  until  He  separate  them.  So  our  business  is  not 
that  of  uprooting  darnel,  but  of  planting  wheat.  Our  busi- 
ness IS  not  to  set  up  thrones  of  judgment  before  which  we 
summon  men ;  but  to  carry  on  the  conflict  with  which  we 
dealt  in  our  previous  study,  the  conflict  of  the  resistance  of 
non-resistance  : — the  perpetual  march  of  victory  which  is 
the  constant  march  of  defeat.  It  is  the  way  of  the  Cross 
that  leads  to  the  crowning. 

These  certainly  are  the  teachings  of  Christ  according  to 


3o8  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

the  records.  Those  who  are  wiser  than  He  must  be  left 
to  their  own  problems,  and  to  their  own  vain  conceits. 
Only  let  those  who  are  wiser  than  these  words  of  Jesus 
consider  lest,  in  zeal  for  some  false  conception  of  God, 
they  may  wrong  themselves,  and  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
An  article  appeared  recently  in  the  British  fVeekly^  which 
is  well  worthy  of  very  careful  attention  on  the  part  of 
Christian  people.*  It  has  applications  beyond  this  connec- 
tion, but  the  title  of  it  immediately  arrested  my  attention, — 
"  Irreligious  solicitude  for  God.**  The  writer  of  the  article 
shows  that  Hilary  first  used  that  phrase  "  irreligious  solicitude 
for  God,'*  and  that  he  used  it  in  reference  to  those  thinkers 
who  shrank  from  accepting  the  full  mystery  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, because  it  seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  dishonour  to  God. 

In  that  very  mood  some  truly  fine  souls  object  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  actual  second  advent  of  Christ.  Such  an 
objection  is  "  irreligious  solicitude  for  God.*'  Let  the  ob- 
jection be  answered  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Grist.     He  says, 

"  A  favourite  expedient  adopted  by  many  is  to  assume 
that  the  apocalypse  of  Jesus  is  purely  pictorial,  and  then 
proceed  to  '  spiritualize  *  this  teaching  by  excluding  every 
statement  that  does  not  accord  with  the  saying  '  The 
Kingdom  of  God  is  within  you.'  .  .  .  This  prevalent 
mode  of  exegesis  springs  in  part  from  a  false  delicacy  or 
so-called  spirituality,  which  resents  every  embodiment  of 
ideas,  and  decries  the  material  side  of  life  in  order  to  exalt 
the  ideal.  A  world  less  gross  than  the  one  God  has  created 
would  be  needed  to  satisfy  this  superior  order  of  minds."  ^ 

The  man  who  objects  to  the  Incarnation  because  it  dis- 
honours God,  objects  to  that  through  which  he  gained  the 
conception  of  God  that  now  makes  him  object  to  the  idea 
of  Incarnation.  It  was  only  through  the  Incarnation  that 
the  high  and  exalted  ideals  of  God  which  men  have  to-day 
were  made  possible.     If  God  did  see  fit  to  tabernacle  In 

»  June  20th,  1 9 1 2.        »  "  Historic  Christ  in  the  Faith  of  To-day,"  p.  427. 


The  Crisis  309 

human  flesh,  then  I  worship,  though  I  cannot  understand 
it.  The  stoop  is  too  infinite  for  my  comprehension,  but  I 
dare  not  question  it.  And  I  will  not  be  guilty  of  such  an 
irreligious  solicitude  for  God  as  to  refuse  to  believe  the 
apocalyptic  word  of  Jesus,  for  by  other  words  He  so  re- 
vealed God  to  me  that  I  am  compelled  to  believe  Him 
when  He  affirms  that  He  will  come  again,  in  order  to  es- 
tablish the  Kingdom. 

To  those  who  believe  the  teachings  of  Christ,  they  bring 
rest  and  strength,  amid  all  the  conflict  of  to-day.  We 
realize  that  all  is  now  as  He  said  it  should  be  j  the  devil  is 
surely  sowing  darnel ;  and  so  we  are  confident  that  all  will 
be  according  to  His  word.  It  was  in  connection  with  these 
very  prophecies  that  He  said,  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  but  My  words  shall  not  pass  away."  '  Believing 
that  to  be  true,  we  are  content  in  the  hour  of  conflict,  in 
the  bearing  of  the  Cross ;  for  upon  all  the  conflict  there 
flashes  the  glory  of  the  advent,  and  we  are  able  to  sing  with 
mighty  old  Luther, 

**  We  wait  beneath  the  furnace  blast 
The  pangs  of  transformation. 
Not  painlessly  doth  God  recast. 
And  mould  anew  the  Nation 
Where  wrongs  expire ; 
Nor  spares  the  hand 
That  from  the  land 
Uproots  the  ancient  evil. 

**  Then  let  the  selfish  lips  be  dumb. 
And  hushed  the  breath  of  sighing. 
Before  the  joy  of  peace  must  come 
The  pains  of  purifying. 

God  give  us  grace  i 

Each  in  his  place 
To  bear  his  lot ; 
And,  murmuring  not. 
Endure,  and  wait  the  labour." 
*  Matt,  xxiv.  35. 


VIII.     AN  INDIVIDUAL  APPLICATION 


"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  He  went  into  the  house  of  one  of  the  rulers 
of  the  Pharisees  on  a  Sabbath  to  eat  bread,  that  they  were  watching  Him. 
And  behold,  there  was  before  Him  a  certain  man  which  had  the  dropsy. 
And  Jesus  answering  spake  unto  the  lawyers  and  Pharisees,  saying,  Is  it 
lawful  to  heal  on  the  Sabbath,  or  not  ?  But  they  held  their  peace.  And 
He  took  him,  and  healed  him,  and  let  him  go.  And  He  said  unto  them, 
Which  of  you  shall  have  an  ass  or  an  ox  fallen  into  a  well,  and  will  not 
straightway  draw  him  up  on  a  Sabbath  day  ?  And  they  could  not  answer 
again  unto  these  things. 

"  And  He  spake  a  parable  unto  those  which  were  bidden,  when  He 
marked  how  they  chose  out  the  chief  seats  ;  saying  unto  them.  When  thou 
art  bidden  of  any  man  to  a  marriage  feast,  sit  not  down  in  the  chief  seat ; 
lest  haply  a  more  honourable  man  than  thou  be  bidden  of  him,  and  he 
that  bade  thee  and  him  shall  come  and  say  to  thee.  Give  this  man  place ; 
and  then  thou  shalt  begin  with  shame  to  take  the  lowest  place.  But  when 
thou  art  bidden,  go  and  sit  down  in  the  lowest  place  ;  that  when  he  that 
hath  bidden  thee  cometh,  he  may  say  to  thee.  Friend,  go  up  higher :  then 
shalt  thou  have  glory  in  the  presence  of  all  that  sit  at  meat  with  thee, 
t'or  every  one  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be  humbled  ;  and  he  that 
humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted. 

«« And  He  said  to  him  also  that  had  bidden  him.  When  thou  makest  a 
dinner  or  a  supper,  call  not  thy  friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  nor  thy  kinsmen, 
nor  rich  neighbours  ;  lest  haply  they  also  bid  thee  again,  and  a  recompense 
be  made  thee.  But  when  thou  makest  a  feast,  bid  the  poor,  the  maimed, 
the  lame,  the  blind :  and  thou  shalt  be  blessed ;  because  they  have  not 
wherewith  to  recompense  thee  :  for  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  just. 

"  And  when  one  of  them  that  sat  at  meat  with  Him  heard  these  things, 
he  said  unto  Him,  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  in  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  But  He  said  unto  him,  A  certain  man  made  a  great  supper ;  and 
he  bade  many :  and  he  sent  forth  his  servant  at  supper  time  to  say  to 
them  that  were  bidden,  Come ;  for  all  things  are  now  ready.  And  they 
all  with  one  consent  began  to  make  excuse.  The  first  said  unto  him,  I 
have  bought  a  field,  and  I  must  needs  go  out  and  see  it:  I  pray  thee  have 
me  excused.  And  another  said,  I  have  bougnt  five  yoke  of  oxen,  and  I 
go  to  prove  them :  I  pray  thee  have  me  excused.  And  another  said,  I 
have  married  a  wife,  and  therefore  I  cannot  come.  And  the  servant 
came,  and  told  his  lord  these  things.  Then  the  master  of  the  house  being 
angry  said  to  his  servant,  Go  out  quickly  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the 
city,  and  bring  in  hither  the  poor  and  maimed  and  blind  and  lame.  And 
the  servant  said,  lord,  what  thou  didst  command  is  done,  and  yet  there  is 
room.     And  the  lord  said  unto  the  servant,  Go  out  into  the  highways  and 


hedges,  and  constrain  them  to  come  in,  that  my  house  may  be  filled.  Fo* 
I  say  unto  you,  that  none  of  those  men  which  were  bidden  shall  taste  of 
my  supper. 

"  Now  there  went  with  Him  great  multitudes  :  and  He  turned,  and 
said  unto  them,  If  any  man  cometh  unto  Me,  and  hateth  not  his  own  fa- 
ther, and  mother,  and  wife,  and  childrenj  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea, 
and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple.  Whosoever  doth  not 
bear  his  own  cross,  and  come  after  Me,  cannot  be  My  disciple.  For 
which  of  you,  desiring  to  build  a  tower,  doth  not  first  sit  down  and  count 
the  cost,  whether  he  have  wherewith  to  complete  it  ?  Lest  haply,  when 
he  hath  laid  a  foundation,  and  is  not  able  to  finish,  all  that  behold  begin 
to  mock  him,  saying,  This  man  began  to  build,  and  was  not  able  to  finish. 
Or  what  king,  as  he  goeth  to  encounter  another  king  in  war,  will  not  sit 
down  first  and  take  counsel  whether  he  is  able  with  ten  thousand  to 
meet  him  that  cometh  against  him  with  twenty  thousand?  Or  else,  while 
the  other  is  yet  a  great  way  off,  he  sendeth  an  embassage,  and  asketh  con- 
ditions of  peace.  So  therefore  whosoever  he  be  of  you  that  renounceth  not 
all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple.  Salt  therefore  is  good :  but  if 
even  the  salt  have  lost  its  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  seasoned  ?  It  is 
fit  neither  for  the  land  nor  for  the  dunghill :  men  cast  it  out.  He  that 
'ith  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." — Luke  xiv. 


VIII 
AN  INDIVIDUAL  APPLICATION 

These  words  constitute  an  almost  startling  individual 
application  on  the  part  of  our  Lord  of  His  teaching  con- 
cerning the  Kingdom  of  God.  In  order  that  we  may  catch 
their  true  significance,  we  must  recall  the  circumstances  under 
which  they  were  uttered,  and  very  carefully  observe  their 
direct  connection  with  the  subject  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

This  fourteenth  chapter  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke  is  in 
some  senses  complete  within  itself.  It  is  the  story  of  a 
Sabbath  day  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  It  occurred  in  that  period 
of  His  ministry  when  the  Pharisees  were  strangely  puzzled 
by  Him,  when  their  early  interest  in  Him  was  changing  to 
perplexity,  and  merging  towards  hostility.  One  of  the 
rulers  had  asked  Him  to  his  house,  and  He  had  accepted 
the  invitation.  Jesus  was  a  guest,  and  the  Pharisee  was 
the  host.  The  Pharisees  were  narrowly  watching  Him, 
and  He  knew  it.  Among  those  present  was  a  man  sick  of 
dropsy.  Deliberately,  and  of  set  purpose,  the  Lord  healed 
the  man,  and  then  defended  His  action  as  against  their  un- 
spoken, but  self-evident  criticism. 

Then  occurred  a  strange  action  on  the  part  of  our  Lord. 
As  He  had  already  violated  all  Pharisaic  tradition  by  what 
He  had  done,  so  now  He  seems  to  have  violated  all  the  com- 
mon courtesies  of  hospitality.  He  was  a  guest,  and  as  a 
guest  He  began  to  rebuke  His  fellow  guests  for  the  rudeness 
of  the  way  in  which  they  had  assembled.  He  then  turned 
to  the  host  and  rebuked  him  for  the  method  which  he  had 
followed  in  issuing  his  invitations. 

Imagine  a  modern  preacher  acting  thus,  and  we  realize 
315 


31 6  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

how  startling  an  action  this  was.  He  criticized  ttie  guests 
and  He  criticized  the  host. 

Doubtless  all  were  astonished  at  the  strange  things  He 
had  been  saying ;  but  one  man  exclaimed  :  "  Blessed  is  he 
that  shall  eat  bread  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  " ;  *  and  Jesus 
replied  to  this  man,  to  whom  there  had  come  a  sudden  mo- 
ment of  clear  illumination,  "  A  certain  man  made  a  great 
supper,  and  he  bade  many  .  .  .  and  they  all  with  one 
consent  began  to  make  excuse." 

So  much  for  the  incidents.  Now  we  must  connect  this 
exclamation  with  the  Kingdom  teaching  of  our  Lord. 
Whence  it  sprang  is  clearly  seen  in  the  text,  "  When  one 
of  them  that  sat  at  meat  with  Him  heard  these  things  he 
said  unto  Him,  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  in  the 
Kingdom  of  God."  *  The  exclamation  was  caused  by  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  in  which  He  had  rebuked,  first  the  guests 
and  then  the  host.  In  that  teaching  certain  ideals  of  social 
life  in  the  Kingdom  were  revealed.  To  the  guests  the  Lord 
said  such  things  as  revealed  the  necessity  for  a  true  humility. 
He  charged  them  that  when  they  came  to  feasts  they  should 
not  seek  the  best  room,  or  sit  in  the  highest  place.  And 
why  not  ?  At  this  point  is  the  heart  of  the  teaching.  Notice 
the  actual  words  of  Jesus,  '^  Lest  haply  a  more  honourable 
man  than  thou  be  bidden  of  him."^  A  guest  at  a  social 
function  should  refrain  from  seeking  the  chief  place,  in  order 
that  the  best  man  may  have  it.  Then  He  proceeded  to  de- 
clare that  the  attitude  of  mind  that  earnestly  desires  that  the 
best  man  should  have  the  best  place  is  demonstration  of 
fitness  for  the  highest  place  of  all. 

Turning  to  the  host  our  Lord  said  to  him  that  when  he 

made  a  feast  he  ought  not  to  call  his  friends,  his  kinsmen, 

his  neighbours ;  but  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  blind,  the 

halt.     But   mark  the  reason  for  it :  "  Lest  haply  they  bid 

»  Luke  xiv.  15.  «  I6id.t  xiv.  8. 


An  Individual  Application  317 

thee  again,  and  a  recompense  be  made  thee,"  This  is  the 
law  of  hospitality  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  not  to  ask  a  rich 
neighbour,  lest  he  should  ask  us  again.  Christ  said  :  If 
you  ask  a  man  who  can  ask  you  again,  his  return  invitation 
negatives  the  true  value  of  your  hospitality.  There  is  an 
appalling  amount  of  commercialism  in  social  life  ! 

Then  with  that  inimitable  skill  and  matchless  wisdom 
that  characterized  Him,  He  illuminated  the  whole  situation 
from  the  infinite  spaces :  "  Bid  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the 
lame,  the  blind  .  .  .  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  just."  ^ 

Thus  He  flashed  upon  the  dust  of  to-day  the  glory  of  the 
coming  resurrection,  and  revealed  the  fact  that  all  things  in 
this  life  are  to  be  measured  ultimately  by  the  things  that  lie 
beyond.  Humility  in  guests  is  the  qualification  for  the  fill- 
ing of  the  highest  positions  at  the  feast.  Hospitality  in  a 
host  is  that  which  loves  to  provide,  and  loves  to  give,  be- 
cause there  can  be  no  recompense.  One  man  sitting  at  the 
feast  listened  to  Him,  and  the  glory  of  the  ideal  so  appealed 
to  him  that  he  exclaimed,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God  !  '* 

These  were  but  illustrations  in  the  realm  of  social  life, 
yet  how  searching  they  were ;  and  they  were  chosen  with 
consummate  wisdom,  for  in  social  relationships  men,  society, 
and  nations  stand  most  clearly  revealed  as  to  character. 
Show  me  a  people  as  hosts  and  guests,  and  I  will  tell  you 
more  about  the  national  character  than  can  be  discovered  in 
religious  observance,  political  propaganda,  or  commercial 
enterprise.  In  religious  observance  men  may  wear  dis- 
guises; in  political  propaganda  they  may  be  seeking  votes; 
in  commercial  enterprise  they  are  safeguarded  by  a  policeman. 
But  in  social  life  they  are  themselves,  and  are  manifest.  If 
you  really  want  to  know  what  England  is  as  a  nation,  and 
*Luke  xiv.  12.  •  Ibid.^  xiv.  13,  14. 


3'8 


The  Teaching  of  Christ 


how  near  it  comes  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  waste  no  time 
examining  its  religious  life,  or  enquiring  into  its  political 
institutions,  or  even  its  commercial  enterprises ;  watch  its 
social  relationships,  and  see  how  much  it  knows  of  the  hu- 
mility that  Jesus  Christ  inculcated  j  or  how  much  it  practices 
of  hospitality  according  to  His  ideals.  Consider  what  the 
character  of  the  people  must  be  when  such  ideals  of  humility 
and  hospitality  in  social  life  are  realized.  What  manners 
are  these  when  a  man,  coming  to  a  feast,  halts,  because  he 
passionately  desires  that  the  best  man  shall  have  the  best 
place !  What  men,  and  what  manners  are  these,  when  the 
host  has  only  one  eagerness,  that  of  finding  an  opportunity 
to  give,  never  to  receive  again  ! 

Our  mental  attitude  towards  these  ideals  pronounces  them 
to  be  counsels  of  perfection.  They  are  impossible  !  Then 
Christ  is  impossible,  and  God  is  impossible  and  the  King- 
dom is  impossible  !  Let  us  say  so,  if  we  think  so.  By  this 
means  we  come  to  the  most  searching,  sifting  tests  that  our 
Lord  mstituted.  If  at  the  close  of  our  studies  on  the  teach- 
ing of  Christ  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God,  we  discussed 
international  arbitration,  everybody  would  approve;  but  these 
are  our  Lord's  tests,  the  way  we  behave  at  a  feast,  the  princi- 
ple upon  which  we  invite  our  guests,  our  manner  of  life  in 
the  social  circle. 

One  guest,  knowing  that  the  only  Kingdom  in  which 
such  men  and  manners  are  possible  is  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
cried  out,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  in  the  King- 
dom of  God.'*  The  Master,  accepting  his  figure  of  speech, 
that  of  eating  bread  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  uttered  the  para^ 
bie  of  the  great  supper,  which  moved  in  the  same  realm  of 
social  ideas.  He  carried  over  the  same  persons  He  had 
already  been  dealing  with,  guests  and  a  host,  and  thus  di- 
rected the  already  captured  imagination  to  highest  applica- 
tions.    The  host  is  now  the  King  of  the  Kingdom,  the 


An  Individual  Application  319 

supper  is  the  bread  of  the  Kingdom,  and  the  guests  are 
those  to  whom  the  Kingdom  is  offered.  Of  these  our 
Master  said,  "They  all  with  one  consent  began  to  make 
excuse."  The  parable  is  evidently  the  Lord's  reply  to  a 
man  who  admired  the  Kingdom. 

Let  us  examine  the  statement  as  a  whole ;  then  glance  at 
the  particular  illustrations  of  which  our  Lord  made  use  ;  and 
then  pause  for  one  brief  look  at  the  teaching  that  followed. 

The  teaching  of  the  parable  focussed  in  the  text  is  that  it 
is  possible  to  admire  an  ideal,  and  refuse  to  realize  it ;  that  it 
is  possible  to  vote  for  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  fight  against 
it.  The  man  who  exclaimed,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat 
bread  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,"  was  sincere  and  honest  in  his 
admiration.  And  in  effect,  the  Lord  replied  :  Very  well,  the 
Kingdom  is  open  j  the  invitations  are  issued  ;  but  you  will  not 
come  in  !  "They  all  with  one  consent  began  to  make  excuse." 

This  is  a  day  of  wide-spread  admiration  for  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  as  revealed  to  us  in  its  ideals  and  in  privileges. 
These  were  expressed  in  the  apostolic  word  :  "  The  King- 
dom of  God  is  .  .  .  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost."  These  things  are  popular  within  the 
Church,  and  outside  the  Church.  Righteousness  is  well 
spoken  of  to-day.  Men  everywhere  are  professing  to  love 
peace.  Joy  is  the  quest  of  the  hour.  Yet  there  is  an 
equally  wide-spread  refusal  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  which 
is  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  ;  persistence  in  wrong,  in 
spite  of  admiration  of  right ;  perpetuation  of  strife,  in  spite 
of  the  adoration  of  peace  ;  profanation  of  joy,  by  which  it  is 
killed.  We  agree  that,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God,"  but  we  are  not  proposing  to  enter 
it  immediately.  There  is  distinct  approbation  of  the  King- 
dom as  an  ideal,  accompanied  by  definite  refusal  to  submit 
to  the  King.  Men  pray,  "  Thy  Kingdom  come,"  and  say 
in  their  hearts,  "  We  will  not  have  this  Man  to  reign  ovet 


320  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

us.**  They  say  "  Lord,  Lord,**  and  do  not  the  things  that 
the  Lord  commands.  Some  people  seem  to  be  profoundly 
gratified  when  one  of  the  crowd  in  Hyde  Park  calls  for  cheers 
for  Jesus  Christ.  Yet  such  cheers  constitute  a  profanation 
and  a  blasphemy  until  men  have  crowned  Him  under  the 
shadow  of  His  Cross,  and  submitted  their  lives  to  His  awful 
and  insistent  claim  upon  everything  that  they  have.  Thou- 
sands of  people  to-day  are  saying,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  shall 
eat  bread  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,'*  and  the  Master  still  de- 
clares that  the  supper  is  spread,  the  Kingdom  is  open,  but 
they  all  with  one  consent  begin  to  make  excuse. 

The  excuses  given  aid  the  apprehension  here,  for  they  are 
full  and  final  in  that  they  not  only  reveal  the  facts,  but  inter- 
pret the  secrets.  The  first  said,  "  I  have  bought  a  field,  and 
I  must  needs  go  out  and  see  it  :  I  pray  thee  have  me 
excused.**  And  another  said,  "  I  have  bought  five  yoke  of 
oxen,  and  I  go  to  prove  them :  I  pray  thee  have  me  ex- 
cused." And  another  said,  "  1  have  married  a  wife,  and 
therefore  I  cannot  come.*'  * 

Now  the  common  word,  describing  all  these  people  said,  is 
the  word  "  excuse.**  ''  They  all  with  one  consent  began  to 
make  excuse.'*  The  first  man  said,  "  I  pray  thee  have  me 
excused  **  ;  the  second  man  said  "  1  pray  thee  have  me  ex- 
cused '* ;  the  last  man  did  not  use  the  word,  but  definitely  de- 
clined as  he  said,  "  I  cannot  come,**  and  so  he  made  excuse. 

The  word  itself  is  suggestive.  The  Greek  means  to  beg 
off.  They  all  with  one  consent  began  to  beg  off;  as  our 
own  word,  coming  from  the  Latin,  is  a  singularly  apt  and 
accurate  interpretation  of  the  idea.  An  excuse  is  that  from 
which  all  reason  is  absent.  An  excuse  is  really  a  deceit,  a 
subterfuge,  the  practice  of  hypocrisy,  in  order  to  escape,  be- 
cause there  is  no  reason  to  give.  When  a  boy  at  school  I 
went  one  morning  with   my  homework  unprepared.     My 

»  Luke  xiv.  i8-20. 


An  Individual  Application  321 

mother  did  what  mothers  have  a  habit  of  doing  ;  she  wrote  a 
note  for  me  to  take  to  my  master.  I  remember  it  well.  It 
ran,  "  Will  you  please  excuse  Campbell's  work  this  morn- 
ing ?  "  I  gave  it  to  him,  and  he  received  it  most  graciously. 
When  twelve  o'clock  came,  and  I  was  preparing  to  go  home, 
I  heard  a  voice  saying,  "  Morgan,  where  are  you  going  ?  " 
"  Home,  sir,*'  I  replied.  "  But  your  homework  is  not 
done  !  "  "  No,  sir,  but  I  brought  a  note."  "  Oh,  yes,"  he 
said,  "  that  was  an  excuse,  not  a  reason.  You  will  please 
remain  and  do  your  work !  "  I  have  never  forgotten  the 
difference  between  an  excuse  and  a  reason  from  that  moment 
to  this.  He  was  quite  right.  Why  was  the  note  written  ? 
Because  I  had  no  reason  to  give  ;  I  wanted  to  dodge  my  work. 

"  They  all  with  one  consent  began  to  make  excuse." 
We  must  interpret  the  parable  by  the  exclamation, "  Blessed 
is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  in  the  Kingdom  of  God."  This 
man  knew  perfectly  well  that  in  that  parable  of  the  great 
supper  the  great  Teacher  was  speaking  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  Though  the  invitation  of  God  had  gone  forth, 
though  the  table  was  spread  at  which  men  might  sit  and 
eat,  though  the  Kingdom  had  been  brought  close  to  them 
and  they  might  enter  in,  they  were  making  excuses  for  re- 
maining outside  because  they  had  no  reason  to  give. 

One  man  said  he  had  bought  land,  and  must  go  and  see 
it.  That  was  the  pride  of  possession.  Another  said  he  had 
bought  oxen  and  must  go  and  prove  them.  That  was  at- 
tention to  business.  Yet  another  said  he  had  married  a  wife. 
That  was  the  claim  of  another  affection.  All  the  ground  of 
excuse  is  covered  in  these  illustrations  of  Jesus ;  pride  of 
possession,  the  claims  of  business,  the  mastery  of  affections 
other  than  those  for  Himself.  Excuses  ail  !  Pride  of  pos- 
session ;  if  the  land  be  possessed,  then  enter  the  Kingdom 
and  learn  the  secrets  of  how  to  develop  it.  Attention  to 
business  ;  if  the  oxen  be  bought,  then  bring  them  with  thee. 


322  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

iet  not  a  hoof  be  left  behind  !  By  the  way,  it  may  be 
added  that  the  true  method  of  a  business  man  is  to  prove 
oxen  before  they  are  bought.  Earthly  affection  ;  that  is  not 
to  be  crucified  but  sanctified ;  therefore  with  the  new  love 
enter  the  Kingdom;  and  if  not,  then.  If  any  man  love  wife 
more  than  Me,  he  is  not  worthy  of  Me,  said  the  great  King. 

None  of  these  things  was  in  itself  wrong.  It  was  not 
wrong  to  possess  land,  to  buy  oxen,  or  to  marry.  And 
therefore  the  parable  teaches  the  sinfulness  of  legitimate 
things  when  they  interfere  with  the  highest ;  when  there- 
fore they  prevent  the  realization  of  the  highest;  and  when 
ultimately  through  the  prevention  of  the  realization  of  the 
highest,  they  react  upon  and  destroy  themselves.  We  need 
to  beware  of  the  sinfulness  of  legitimate  things.  This  teach- 
ing is  focussed  in  an  actual  word  of  Jesus,  uttered  in  His 
Manifesto  :  "  Seek  ye  first  His  Kingdom,  and  His  righteous- 
ness -,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  The 
man  who  fails  to  obey  loses  not  only  the  Kingdom,  but  all 
the  things  to  which  he  clings  in  order  to  free  himself  from 
Kingdom  obligations. 

Then  we  glance  on  down  the  parable  for  the  final  teach- 
ing of  the  Lord.  "  The  master  of  the  house  being  angry.** 
That  is  a  word  of  great  solemnity,  leading  up  to  the  dec- 
laration :  "  None  of  those  men  which  were  bidden  shall 
taste  of  my  supper."  *  That  is  figurative  language,  and 
the  revealed  fact  is  that  men  who  admire  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  but  who  will  not  enter,  shall  never  eat  its  bread.  Ad- 
miration of  the  Kingdom  of  God  becomes  in  time  blasphemy 
and  impertinence,  unless  it  lead  men  to  submission  to  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 

Then  we   observe   the  hospitality   of  the  master   of  the 
house  ;  the  hospitality  that  followed  upon  his  anger.      He 
brought  in  the  poor,  the  maimed  and  the  blind  and  the  lame, 
^  Luke  xiv.  21-24. 


An  Individual  Application  323 

the  very  people  he  had  told  the  host  he  should  evei  invite  ;  the 
poor,  entering  the  Kingdom,  come  to  vs^ealth,  the  maimed  to 
wholeness  ;  the   blind   to  sight,  the  lame  to  power  to  walk. 
The  hospitality  of  the  great  heart  of  the  King  expressed  itself 
finally  in  that  word  full  of  exquisite  beauty,"  Go  out  into 
the  highways  and  hedges,  and  constrain  them  to  come  in." 
Then   Jesus   passed   out   of  the   house;   He  crossed  the 
threshold,  and  the  multitudes  who  had  been  waiting,  and 
doubtless  listening,  thronged   after  Him,  and  He  began  to 
say  to  them  the  severest  things  that  ever  passed  His  lips, 
"  if  any  man  cometh  unto  Me,  and  hateth  not  his  own  fa- 
ther and  mother,  and  wife  and  children,  and  brethren,  and 
sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple. 
Whosoever  doth  not  bear  his  ow^n  cross,  and  come  after  Me, 
cannot  be  My  disciple.     .     .     .    Whosoever  he  be  of  you  that 
renounceth  not  all  that  be  hath,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple."  ' 
Our  Lord  thus  said  to  the  people  who  followed  Him, 
and  thronged  after  Him,  Let  those  who  admire,  and  would 
share  the  blessedness  of  the  Kingdom,  know  that  they  must 
crown  the  King,  absolutely,  and  without  counting  cost  or 
considering  conditions.     All  other  ties  must  be  secondary, 
and  severed  if  they  interfere.     The  way  of  the  Cross  must 
be  taken  if  a  man  would  come  into  the  Kingdom.     There 
must  be  the  renouncing  of  all  possession,  property  must  be 
held  in  trust  for  the  Kingdom. 

Strange  words,  severe  words ;  and  we  ask  why  ?  And 
this  is  the  one  occasion  on  which  with  greatest  clearness 
He  gave  the  reason  for  the  severity  of  His  terms.  "  Which 
of  you,  desiring  to  build  a  tower,  doth  not  sit  down  first 
and  count  the  cost  ?  "  ^  By  which  He  did  not  mean  that 
they  were  builders  and  must  count  the  cost,  but  that  they 
were  the  King's  helpers,  that  He  was  the  Builder,  and  that 
He  must  count  the  cost ;  that  He  was  the  King  going  to 
1  Luke  xiv.  26,  27,  33.  '  /-^^^-i  xiv.  28. 


324  The  Teaching  of  Christ 

war,  and  therefore  He  must  count  the  cost.  He  needed 
men  in  His  building  upon  whom  He  could  depend.  He 
needed  warriors  who  would  fight  in  the  day  of  fiercest  con- 
flict. He  had  to  sift  the  ranks,  because  the  Kingdom,  ere 
it  could  be  established,  would  demand  strenuous  toil,  con- 
stant conflict.     So  He  sifted  the  ranks. 

Now  the  last  saying  !  Those  who  admire  and  refuse  to 
help  are  salt  without  savour,  are  fit  only  for  the  dunghill. 
No,  not  even  fit  for  that !  Cast  them  out !  That  was 
Christ's  searching,  withering,  appalling  contempt  for  men 
who  admire  and  do  not  obey.  Those  poor,  bruised, 
maimed,  blind,  wretched  people,  who  do  not  see  the  beauty, 
bring  them  in ;  I  will  open  their  eyes,  and  heal  them  I 
But  that  smug,  self-satisfied  man,  who  listens  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Kingdom  and  says,  That  is  most  excellent ;  and 
bars  his  heart  against  Christ,  and  puts  no  blood  into  the 
business  of  building  the  Kingdom,  and  knows  nothing  of 
the  Master's  compassion  ;  that  man,  says  Jesus,  cast  him 
out.  Of  all  worthless  men,  that  sleek,  admiring  Pharisee, 
who  does  nothing,  is  the  most  useless  !     Cast  him  out  ! 

What  is  our  attitude  towards  the  Kingdom  of  God  ? 
Intellectual  approbation,  emotional  attraction,  and  voli- 
tional antagonism  ?  Then  we  are  not  in  the  Kingdom  ; 
we  cannot  eat  its  bread,  wc  cannot  help  its  King  ;  and  at 
last  even  that  King,  so  fa>r,  so  lovely,  so  patient,  so  infinite 
in  pity,  even  He  will  cast  us  out. 

The  only  true  attitude  towards  the  Kingdom  of  God  is 
that  in  which  the  whole  life  is  surrendered.  The  only  true 
attitude  is  that  in  which  the  life  of  the  individual  becomes  a 
microcosm  of  the  Kingdom  that  is  to  be,  because  it  is  un- 
der the  reign  and  the  rule  of  the  King. 

If  that  is  not  so  in  your  case  and  mine,  why  not  ? 
Down  the  millenniums  the  penetrative  voice  of  Jesus  finds 
its  way  ;  excuses,  excuses !  God  help  us  to  have  done 
with  excuses,  and  to  enter  the  Kingdom. 


Index 


Exodus — 

iii.  5  • 

6. 


14 
xix.  6 


190 
120 
190 
306 


2  Samuel — 

vii.  12,  13 206 

I  Chronicles — 

xxix.  II 206 


2  Chronicles- 
xiii.  8    .    . 


206 


Psalms — 

xxii.  28 206 

xlv.  6 206 

ciii.  19 206 

cxlv.  11-13 206 

Isaiah — 

«.  7 

xlv,  7 

Hv.  13 

Ixii.  3 


206 
129 
124 
206 


Jeremiah — 

xxxi.  34 124 


Ezekiel — 
xxxiv.  3    . 

Daniel— 
vii.  13,  14 
26,27 

MiCAH— 

iv.  8.    .    . 


Obadiah — 

21  .     . 


Zechariah — 
viii.  5    .   . 


237 

301 
302 

206 

206 

270 


Apocrypha. 

2  ESDRAS — 

xiii.  2-5  ..... 
25-39    .... 


....    303I 
....    304 

Matthew — 

iii-  2,  II 233 

12 305 

IV.  3,  6,  9 115 

*4,  7,  10    .    .  98,  115,  234 
10 98 

*  17 175,  201 

V.  3 221,  235 

10 221 

10-12 283 

*  17-20   .    .    158,  193,  220 
19 

*48 

*  vi.  I 

8 

9,  10 

10 

13 

22-24    ... 

.     32 

vii.  II  ....    . 
24-27    .... 

viii.  17 

ix.  4-6 137 

13  .    .    40,  158,  160 

36 238 

X.  7 202,  220 

....    283 
56.59 

lOI 

28 119 

34   ...    .  158,  161,  293 

34-39 284 

40 156 

xi.  3-5 204 

12 204,  219 

35-28 24J 


222 

193 
194 

26 
208 
223 
102 
118 

26 

122 

6 

'37 


[6-22 

20 

25 


325 


326 


Index 


M ATTH  EW  (  continued  ) — 

*  xi   27 18,  25,  35 

xii.  26 98 

27 53.  102 

28  .    .    .  53,  59,  204,  221 

31,32 55' 59 

43-45 107 

xiii.  1-5 298 

19      102 

24-30 298 

37 102 

37-39        •    •       .    .    299 

38  .    . 102 

39 loi 

39-41 81 

41 227 

43 215 

49»50 81 

51.52 223 

XV.  II 123 

14 239 

17-20 133 

XVI.  13 305 

16 249, 305 

16-19 266  f 

*  18  ...  .  233, 264, 284 

*  19  .  .        223,  249,  264 

21 251 

22,23 291 

24 284 

26  119 

27 89,  300  f 

28 250,  255 

'^vit.  3-5 255  f 

xviii.  I 268 

3 123,  220 

3»4 257 

10 86 

15'  20 269  f 

23-35    •    .    •    -    257,  268 

XX.  1-16      299 

17-28 257 

24-28 270 

28      ...    .    166,  304 

xxi.  21,  22 271 

38 236 

43  ■     .     .  224,  272,  275 

xxii.  1-14 300 

*  30 82 

*32      120 

37'  39 27 

37-40 121 

xxiii.  4    .    .        237 


Matthew  {continued) 
xxiii.  8-12  . 
'3 

34,35 
xxiv.,  XXV. 

xxiv.  35  .    . 

36.  . 
XXV.  41 
xxvi.  27-28 
29 
38 
45 
52 

...  53 
xxvui.  18-20 

19.  . 

Mark — 


.  1.  15  •    . 
lii.  29   . 
iv.  15  .    , 
viii.  38  . 
ix.  47  .    . 
X.  14. 

45       ■ 
xn.  29-31 

36,37 
xiii.  II.    . 

31 

32.  . 

xiv.  25  .  . 

xvi.  16  .  . 


272 

224 

284 

273,  300 

6,  309 

.      83 

I,  108 

138 

274 

35 

35 

292 

88 

274 

56 


175,  202 

55.  136 

98 

.    .6,84 

.    .    220 

•    205 

.    .      40 

.    121 

.  •  54 
.  .  56 
.    .        6 

•    •      35 
203 

.   .      56 


Luke— 

"•49 42 

"1.  13 146 

iv.  4,  8,  12 39 

.43      35 

VI.  9 148 

47-49 7 

vii.  50 150 

viii.  12 101 

48 142,  148 


50 


[48 


ix.  26 7,  84 

...       14 
•    •        •      35 


35      ■ 

58.  . 

59,  60 
X.  9    .    . 

9-1 1 
16.    . 
*i8.    . 
XI.  13  .   . 


241 
202 
221 
156 
99 
53 


Index 


327 


Luke  {continued) — 

xi.  21 240 

24-26 240 

xii.4        "9 

10-12    ......      55* 

ir 120 

32  .     .     .     .     .         222  f,  299 

35 299 

*49,  50    .    .    .    42,  54.  »66 

xiii.  16 99 

xiv.  8 3*6 

12-14 317 

*i5 316 

18-20 320 

21-24 322 

26-33 323 

XV.  10  .......    .      07 

xvi.  16 219 

22 87 

xvii.  19 148 

20 215 

*  21       221 

xviii.  31-34 ^45 

42      148 

xix.  3,  5,  7 M5  ^ 

9,  10  .  .    .  142  f,  I47»  ^50 
10    ....    40.  158*  304 

11-27        238 

14      238 

XX.  35,  36 83 

xxi.  33 7 

xxii.  29,  30 30^ 

31 99 

xxiv.  44-48 7 

46-47 ^38 

49 56 

John — 

i.  I 5 

14 113 

17 189 

18  .....   .    113 

47.51 ^''^5 

ii.  4        ^95 

23,  24 50 

iii.  I        50 

2-5 201,  217 

3    .....       216,  239 

3-5 ^23,219 

5-8 5»'57.62 

I3»  14 40 

iv.  14 52 

32 .    142 


John  {continued) — 
iv.  24 
* 


25 


158 
164 


V.  17  .        .  26,  36  f,  42,  162! 
18       38 

*2I   . 36  f 

24 7 

30-36 32 

34      

43 

vi.  28,  29 175 

*  3c 190  1 

44,45 ^23^ 

63 8 

70 loi 

vii.  17      II.  175 

32.        ......  3 

37-39 52^ 

45-46 3 

*viii.  12 .    .  1901 

20 195 

34 136 

39 '47 

*42 33 

44 loi,  24c 

51 •  ^t 

*58 33  f 

ix.  4 35 

40,41 239 

41 •  135^ 

*x.  9 1901 

10 166 

*  11-15    * i9of 

17 27 

17,  18        .    .    .    167,  252 

*30,  31,  33     •        .    .  36f 

*xi.  25 190  f 

xii.  21-32 257 

*  27,  28 166 

31 104 

*34 38,155 

46 42 

*  47-50 8,  1 1 

xiii.  36 62 

*  XIV.  5 62 

6 I90f 

8 62 

8,  9 28,  36  f 

*  16-20    .    .    .        .    65,  68 

26,  27 62 

30  .......    .    104 

XV.  I 190  f 

*  22-24    .    .        .    .         135 

*  26,  27 63 


328 


Inde: 


John  {continued) — 

xvi.  7-16 63 

*8,  9 136 

*  1 1      104 

12,  13 264 

*  28 28,  33  f 

33  285,  293 


xvii.  I    .    . 

is: 

8    .    . 
17 

20  .    . 
xviii.  36 

36.37 

XX.   22,  23 

28  .     . 


.    8, 
186. 


96 

17 
87  f 
87 
89 

.  .  195 
.  .  217 
173.  258 

•  •  56 
.    .    181 


Acts — 

i.5-8 


56 

6-8 275 

ii.  12,  33 72 

23      165 

xxiii.  8 89 


Romans — 
xiii.  II 


«5> 


I  Corinthians — 

V.  7 273 

xiii.  8 290 

XV.  24  .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .  274 


2  CORINTHIANS- 
X.  3-5  .    . 

Ephesians — 

i.  3  •  .  . 
ii.  19  .  , 
vi.  12  .    .    . 


291,  293 


21 
222 
108 


Timothy — 

iii.  16    ......    43,  290 


Hebrews — 
i.  I,  2   . 
7    • 
14.    . 
ii.  16-17 

I  Peter — 
i.  3    •    . 


I  John — 
i.  2 
ii.  I 


14 
88 

83 


31 


■el 


WRITERS  QUOTED 


Enoch— 

The  Book  of 303 

Girdlestone,  R.  B. — 
««  Old     Testament     Syno- 
nyms"    128 

Grist — 

"  Historic    Christ    in    the 
Faith  of  To-day  "...     308 

James,  W. — 

"  The  Will  to  Believe  "    .     180 

Jones,  J.  D. — 

"  Chairman's  Address," 
Congregational  Union         31 


Orr,  J  — 

•'  Sin  as  a  Problem  of  To- 
day "  127 

Rotherham,  J.  B. — 

"  Emphasized  Bible  "  .    .      43 

Trench,  R.  C— 

"  Synonyms   of  the  New 
Testament " 129 

Westcott,  B.  F. — 

"  The    Revelation  of  the 
Father" 33 


Index 


329 


SUBJECT  INDEX 


Advent— 

Christ    {continued^— 

The  Crisis  of  the  Second  . 

306 

Authority  of  teaching  of 

II 

His  claim  for  His  teaching 

4f 

Anarchy— 

Coming  of 

300  f 

to  Christ.     The  Appeal  of 

241 

Necessity  for  the  cross  of  . 

250  f 

necessitating    the    Cross  . 

250 

The  eternal 

iZ 

False  ideals  of 

232 

His  claim  concerning  the 

Manifestations  of  ...    . 

232  f 

Kingdom 

221 

postponing  the  Kingdom  . 

242. 

His    conception     of     the 

The  reasons  of 

239  f 

Kingdom 

199  f 

False  rule  of 

236 

identified  with  man  .    .    . 
the    manifestation   of   the 

113 

Angels- 

name  of  God 

188  f 

Belief  of  N.  T.  writers  in 

80 

Method  of  .    .  ' 

41  f 

Character  of 

84 

in  salvation.     Method  of  . 

156 

Future    ministry   of      .    . 

89 

Mission  of 

39  f 

Present  ministry  of .    .    . 

84  f 

Saving  mission  of  ...    , 

157 

Nature   of 

81  f 

Mystery  of  . 

42 

His  Person                 ... 

3 

Aspects— 

in  salvation.     Purpose  of 

161  f 

of  sin.     Different  .    , 

129  f 

Revelation  of 

concerning    salvation. 

27  f 

Authority- 

Claim  of     .    .    . 

150 

Christ's  words  divine  in  . 

II 

the  Sent  of  the  Father  ,    . 

156 

His  consciousness  of  sin   . 

134 

Beelzebub 

lOI  f 

The  Spirit  and  the  work  of 

53  f 

The  temporal 

.35f 

Being— 

the  Word  of  God   .    .    .    . 

28 

of  the  Spirit.     The    .    .    . 

59 

Unity  of  Man's 

ii7f 

Church- 

Values  of  man's  physical 

Christ's  reference  to  the   . 

264 

and  spiritual 

119 

in    this    age.     Conflict  of 

the 

282  f 

Belief— 

and  the  Kingdom.     The  . 

267  f 

of  N.  T.  writers  in  angels 

80 

for     the    Kingdom.     Re- 

of N.  T.  writers  in  demons 

106  f 

sponsibility  of  the  .    .    . 
responsibility.  Fulfillment 

275 

Bondage— 

of 

""11. 

in  Sin 

136 

Weapons  of  the     .... 
Claim- 

286  f 

Can- 

to  repentance.     The 

176  f 

of  Christ  for  His  teaching 

4f 

to  faith.     The        .... 

178  f 

in   relation  to  the  Father. 

to  obedience.     The      .    , 

180  f 

Christ's 

concerning    Himself. 

28 

Character— 

Christ's           

28 

of  angels.     The     .... 

84  f 

concerning  the  Kingdom. 

Sanctity  of 

188  f 

Christ's        

221 

concerning  men.     Christ's 

28 

Christ- 

concerning   salvation. 

Appeal  of  anarchy  to    .    . 

241 

Christ's 

150 

33^  Index 

Comforter— 

The  Spirit  the 63  f 

Coming— 

of  Christ.     The     ....  300  f 

Purpose  of  Christ's  second  305 

of  the  Son  of  Man.  The  302  f 
of  the  Spirit.     The   ...      67  f 

Conception— 

of  the  Kingdom.  Christ's  199  f 
of  man.  Christ's,  .  .  ii4f 
of  salvation.     Christ's  150,  156 

Conduct- 
Sanctity  of 192  f 

Conflict— 

of  the  Church  in  this  age. 

The 282  f 

in  the  Kingdom  281  f 

Nature  of  the  Church's     .     286  f 

Consciousness — 

of  sin.     Christ's     ....     134 

Continuity- 

of  man's  personality.    The     120 

Conversion — 

Necessity  for  man's  ...     123 

Crisis— 

of  the  second  advent  .    .    .    306 

^ross — 

the  entrance  to  the  King- 
dom.    The 257 

Necessity  for  Christ's    .    .     250  f 

and  the  Kingdom.  Rela- 
tion between  the   .    .    .     249  f 

Defilement— 

of  man's  nature 123 

Demons — 

Belief  of  N.  T.  writers  in  106  f 
Nature  of 107 

Devil— 

The 100  f 

the  evil  one.     The    .    .    ,     102 


Devil  (^continued') — 

a  liar  and  murderer.    The 

the  prince   of  this  world. 

The 

Disciples— 

The  Spirit  and  the  work  of 


Entrance- 
to  the  Kingdom    . 
to    the     Kingdom. 
Cross  the    ,    .    . 


218  f, 
The 


Evil— 

The  principle  of 

Fact— 

of  man.     The    . 
of  sin.     The  .    . 


Faith - 

The  call  to 

the  opportunity  of  salva- 
tion   


Father- 
God 


Finality— 

of  Christ's  teaching.     The 

Fixity— 

in  Sin 


Force— 

of  Sin.     The 


Forgiveness — 

of  sin  possible.     The     ,    . 

Gift— 

of  salvation.     The     .    .    . 

Qod~ 

a  Father 

Jehovah    .    .  ... 

The  Kingdom  of   .        .    . 
Christ  the  manifestation  of 
the  name  of  ... 

His  method  of  law     . 
Christ's  method  in  reveal- 


ing        .... 
Christ's  relation  to 


103 
104! 

55  f 

257 
132 


»I3 
127 


178  f 
179 

22  f 

14 
136 
130! 

166  f 


22  f 
24 
207 

188  f 
27 

iSf 
33 


Index 


33» 


Qod  {continued)— 

tc  men.     Relation  o. 

114 

A  revelation  of 

27 

The  rule  of 

207 

Irreligious  solicitude  for  . 

308 

a  Spirit 

2St 

Christ  the  Word  of      .    . 

28 

Qovernment — 

Teaching    of    Christ    for 
human 13 

Heaven— 

The  Kingdom  of  ...    .    208 

Ideals — 

of  anarchy.     False    .    .    .    232 

Inheritance — 

of  its  subjects.    The  King- 
dom of  God  the     ...    221  f 


Inspiration — 

of  obedience. 


Love  the  .    192 


Issue — 

of  salvation.     Sanctity  the 


[86 


Jeliovah 24 


Kingdom — 

Anarchy  postponing  the    . 

The  Church  and  the      .    . 

Responsibility  of  the 
Church  for  the   .    .    .    . 

Christ's  claims  concerning 
the . 

Christ's  conception  of  the 

Conflict  in  the 

Relation  between  the 
Cross  and  the     .... 

Entrance  to  the    .    .    218  f, 

The  cross  the  entrance  to 
the 

of  God.     The 

of  God  to  be  established. 
The 

of  heaven.     The    .... 

the  inheritance  of  its  sub- 
jects.    The 

Immediate  interest  in  the 

of  God  come  to  men.    The 

Parables  of  the 


Kingdom  {continued  ) — 

Phases  of  the 226 

Refusal  of  the 319 

Social  Relationships  in  the  3 1 7 
The  Spirit  and  the  ...  50 
Subjects    responsible     for 

the 222  f 

the    key-note    of  Christ's 


teaching.  The  .... 
Meaning  of  the  term  .  , 
0.  T.  use  of  the  term  .  . 
the   key-note   of    Christ's 

works.    The 

200  f 
205  f 
206 

204  f 

iw— 

of  Love.  God's  .... 
of  man's  probationary  life. 

27 

The 


Liar— 

The  devil  a 

Logos.    The  . 


:2of 


103 
4f 


Life- 
Law  of  man's  probation- 
ary    .    .     1 20  f 

adjusted  to  truth 195 

Lord.    The 23  f 


242 

267  f 

Love- 

the  inspiration  of  obedience 

192 

275 

Man- 

221 

Christ's  conception  of  .    . 

ii4f 

199  f 

Christ  identified  with    .    . 

"3 

281  f 

Christ's  relation  to    .    .    . 

^8f 

The  coming  of  the  Son  of 

302  f 

249  f 

the  necessity  for  his  con- 

V9i 

version        

123 

The  fact  of 

113 

257 

to  God.     Relation  of 

114 

207 

The  kingdom  of  God  come 

to         

220  f 

224  f 

the  defilement  of  his  na- 

208 

ture      

the   continuity  of  his  per- 

123 

221  f 

sonality       

120 

199 

physically  and  spiritually  . 

119 

220  f 

The    opportunity    of    his 

202  f 

restoration  ...... 

123  f 

332 


Index 


Man  {continued) — 

Person— 

concerning  salvation.    Re- 

of Christ.     The   .    .    .  ^ 

3 

sponsibility  of    .    .        . 

177  f 

The  Spirit  and  .... 

53 

Personality- 

The  unity  of  his  being  .    . 

ii7f 

Continuity  of  man's  .   .    . 

120 

Manifestation— 

Prince— 

of  anarchy.     The  .    .    .    . 

232  f 

of  this  virorld.     The  devil 

of  the  name  of  God.    Chris 

t 

the 

104! 

the 

188  f 

Principle— 

Method— 

of  evil.     The 

132 

of  Christ.     The     .    .    .    . 

41  f 

of  Christ  in  Salvation.  The 

156 

Purpose— 

of  Christ's  second  coming. 

Ministry— 

The 

305 

of  angels.     The  future  . 

89 

ofChrist  in  salvation.    The 

161  f 

of  angels.     The  present   . 

84  f 

Reasons- 

Mission- 

of  anarchy.     The  .... 

239  f 

of  Christ.     The     .    .    .    . 

39  f 

of  Christ.     The  saving     . 

157 

Redemption- 

The   cross  a  necessity  ir 

I 

Christ's   teaching   to  pro- 

Christ's  

250  f 

claim  

13 

Murderer— 

Relation— 

The  devil  a 

103 

to  God.     Christ's      ... 

33 

to  man.     Christ's  .... 

38  f 

Nature— 

of  man  to  God.     The 

114 

of  angels.     The     .    .    . 

81  f 

of   the    Church's   conflict 

Relationships— 

The 

286  f 

in  the  Kingdom.     Social  . 

317 

of  demons.     The   .    .    . 

107 

Defilement  of  man's  .    . 

123 

Repentance— 

of  sin.     The               .    . 

130  f 

The  call  to 

176  f 

of  the  Spirit.     The    .    . 

59 

fundamental  to  salvation  . 

176 

Obedience— 

Responsibility— 

The  call  to 

180  f 

of  man  concerning  salva- 

Love the  inspiration  of 

192 

tion.    The  ... 

177  f 

the    proof  of    repentance 

in  sin.     The       

*35 

and  faith 

181  f 

Restoration- 

Office— 

Opportunity  of  man's    .    . 

123  f 

of  the  Spirit.     The   .    . 

7if 

Revelation— 

Opportunity— 

of  God.     Christ  the  .    .    . 

28 

of  salvation.     Faith  the 

179 

of  Himself,     Christ's    .    . 

32  f 

Origin- 

Rhema 

.      4f 

of  sin  unrevealed.     The 

127 

Rule- 

Parables— 

Anarchy'.":  false 

236 

of  the  Kingdom.     The 

202  f 

1       ot  God.     Tb» 

207 

Index 


333 


Salvation-- 

Claim  of  Christ  concern- 
ing     150,  156 

Christ's  conception  of  .  150,  156 

Faith  the  opportunity  of  .  179 

The  gift  of 166  f 

interpreted  .    .I47f,  i57f 

The  method  of  Christ  in  .  156 

The  purpose  of  Christ  in  .  i6i  f 

Repentance  fundamental  to  176 
The  responsibility  of  man 

concerning I77  ^ 

Sanctity  the  issue  of  .    .    ,  186 

Sin  and 151,  165 

The  word 141 

Sanctity— 

of  character    ......  188  f 

of  conduct 192  f 

the  issue  of  salvation     .    .  186 

possible  of  realization    .    .  196 

Truth  the  medium  of    .    .  188  f 

Satan 97 

Sin- 
Different  aspects  of  .    .   .  129 

Bondage  in 136 

The  fact  of 127 

Fixity  in 136 

The  force  of 130  f 

possible.     Forgiveness  of  137  f 

The  nature  of    .    .    .    .    „  130  f 
unrevealed.     The   Origin 

of 127 

Responsibility  in   ...    .  135 

and  salvation  .    .    .    .  151,  165 

Sinfulness— 

of  legitimate  things.     The  322 

Solicitude— 

for  God.     Irreligious    .    .  308 

Spirit— 

The  being  of  the    ...    .      59 
the  Comforter.     The    .    .      63  f 
The  coming  of  the        .    .      67  f 

God  a 25  f 

The  Holy  .......      60 

and  the  Kingdom.     The         50 
and  man.     The     ....      53 

The  nature  of  the  .    .    .    .      59 

The  office  of  the    ....      71  f 


Spirit  {continued^ — 

Christ's  general  teaching 

concerning  the  .  .  . 
of  truth.  Tlie  .... 
and  Christ's  work.     The 

Subjects — 

The  Kingdom  of  God  in 
herited  by  its      ... 

Their  responsibility  for  the 
Kingdom  of  God  .    . 

Teacliing— 

of  Christ  authoritative 
of    Christ,   divine    in   a 

thority 

of  Christ,  His  claim 
Christ's  estimate  of  His 
of  Christ  final    .... 
of  Christ  for  human  gov 

ernment 

of  Christ  concerning  Him 

self 

The    Kingdom    the    key 

note  of  Christ's  . 
of  Christ  to  proclaim  re 

demption.     The     .    . 

Truth- 
Life  adjusted  to 
the  medium  of  sanctity 
The  Spirit  of      .... 

Unity— 

of  man's  being. 

Weapons — 

of  the  Church. 


The 


The 


Word— 

of  God. 
of  God. 


The    .    , 
Christ  the 


The  Spirit  and 
The    Spirit 


Work— 

of  Christ, 
the  ,    .    . 

of    disciples. 

and  the       

of  God.     The 

The  Kingdom  the  inspira- 
tion of  Christ's  .... 

World— 

The  devil  prince  of  this    . 


50  f 
66 
53  f 


221  i 

222  i 

8 

II 

9 
II 

14 

^3 

32  f 
200 


195, 

188  f 

66 


ii7f 
286  f 


53  f 

55  f 
178  f 

204  f 
104  f 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Date.  Due 


MY  O  r  *ri ! 


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